Foreign Investors Turn Net Buyers in Week 16

The Nairobi Securities Exchange extended its recovery to a third consecutive week, though momentum faded sharply.

• •Market capitalization edged up 0.54% to KSh 3,451.45Bn, adding KSh 18.53Bn after the KSh 128.42Bn surge in Week 15.
• •All indices closed green but gains were modest, with the NSE 10 barely moving at +0.08%.
• •Market capitalization at KSh 3,451.45Bn has now recovered KSh 209.63Bn of the KSh 231.17Bn lost during the Week 13 rout, leaving just KSh 21.54Bn to fully retrace the selloff.

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The NASI gained 0.54% to 208.13, the Banking Index rose 0.95% to 241.14, the NSE 20 advanced 0.45% to 3,606.52, and the NSE 25 added 0.25% to 5,756.90.

The week's most significant development came from the CBK weekly bulletin: a US-Israel-Iran ceasefire was announced, easing the geopolitical pressure that had driven the selloff. However, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains restricted, and Murban crude held at $89.61 per barrel, only marginally below the $90.33 recorded the previous week. The ceasefire has not yet translated into a meaningful oil price decline.

Equity turnover nearly doubled to KSh 5.41Bn from KSh 2.77Bn, driven almost entirely by Kenya Pipeline Company, which traded a remarkable 228.3M shares worth KSh 2.27Bn, accounting for 41.90% of total market turnover. Stripping out KPC, underlying turnover was closer to KSh 3.1Bn. Total volume surged 279% to 339.77M shares, again dominated by the KPC activity.

Top Gainers and Losers

Sameer Africa led gainers, surging 18.69% to KSh 19.05. BOC Kenya rose 12.02% to KSh 139.75, East African Portland Cement gained 7.28%, BK Group advanced 7.11% to KSh 52.00, and Kenya Pipeline added 6.88% to KSh 9.94. Equity edged up 1.01% to KSh 75.00.

On the downside, Sanlam Kenya fell 6.06% to KSh 9.30, I&M Holdings dropped 5.92% to KSh 48.45, Flame Tree lost 5.60%, Umeme declined 4.99%, and Unga Group shed 4.75%. KCB slipped 2.46% to KSh 69.25.

Turnovers and Flows

The sector composition shifted dramatically. Energy and Petroleum dominated at 43.58% of weekly turnover (KSh 2.3Bn), displacing banking which fell to 28.87% (KSh 1.5Bn) from its usual 60%+ share. Telecommunications held at 21.07% (KSh 1.1Bn). The top five counters (KPC, Safaricom, Equity, KCB, I&M) accounted for 84.94% of turnover.

Foreign investors recorded a net inflow of KSh 78.17M, the first positive week since Week 12 in mid-March, ending a six-week streak of outflows. The turnaround was driven by Wednesday (+KSh 138.80M) and Friday (+KSh 89.57M), coinciding with the ceasefire announcement. Foreign turnover was KSh 1.51Bn (27.92% of activity).

Bond turnover fell 23.56% to KSh 40.67Bn. The Bond Index declined 0.46% to 1,164.74. Derivatives recorded 2,594 contracts worth KSh 17.2M, down sharply from 7,943 contracts.

Money Markets and FX

The shilling strengthened slightly to KSh 129.18 per dollar from KSh 129.53 the previous week. CBK reserves slipped to USD 13,306M (5.6 months of import cover), a sixth consecutive weekly decline, though the pace has slowed to just USD 10M from the previous week's USD 340M drawdown.

March inflation came in at 4.4%, up from 4.3% in February, the first uptick in the direction markets had feared. March remittance inflows rose 9.1% to USD 450.3M from USD 412.7M in February, with 12-month cumulative inflows reaching USD 5.08Bn.

T-bill rates edged up marginally across all tenors, with the 91-day at 7.42%, 182-day at 7.83%, and 364-day at 8.27%. The 30-year bond auction was heavily oversubscribed at 191.7%, with KSh 38.3Bn in bids against KSh 20Bn offered.

Kenya's Eurobond yields continued to compress, with the 2028 tenor at 7.32% and the 2034 at 8.50%, both down from the previous week.

Key Rates Snapshot: Week Ended April 17, 2026