The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) opened its first full trading week of 2026 on a firm footing, with all major equity indices posting gains as liquidity returned after the year-end lull extending momentum from a record 2025.
- •The All Share Index (NASI) rose 2.41% to 191.87, adding 4.52 points, while the NSE 20 gained 2.96% to 3,233.75.
- •The NSE 25 advanced 2.47% to 5,245.74, and the NSE 10 climbed 2.38% to 2,022.61. Banks outperformed the broader market, with the Banking Index up 3.59% to 211.72.
- •Market capitalization increased 2.41% to KSh 3.03 trillion, reflecting renewed risk appetite across heavyweight stocks.
Equity market activity accelerated sharply. Weekly turnover jumped to KSh 3.50Bn on 130.5M shares, up from KSh 1.07Bn on 47.7M shares the previous week. This represented a 227.04% increase in turnover and a 173.38% rise in traded volumes. Trading remained highly concentrated, with the top five counters accounting for nearly 80% of total market value.
Safaricom dominated activity, trading shares worth KSh 1.42Bn, or 40.45% of total turnover, and closing the week 2.11% higher at KSh 29.10 on volumes of 48.7M shares. Equity Group followed with KSh 692.6M in turnover and a 3.73% price gain to KSh 69.50, while KCB Group traded KSh 431.8M and ended the week 1.90% higher at KSh 67.00. KenGen and I&M Group completed the top five by turnover.
The banking sector remained the main driver of market liquidity, contributing KSh 1.6Bn, or 46.35%, of weekly equity value. Beyond Equity and KCB, I&M Group recorded KSh 111M in turnover, while sector-wide gains lifted the Banking Index to its strongest weekly performance since late 2025.
Performance across other sectors was mixed but constructive. In energy, Kenya Power rose 10.66% to KSh 15.05, supported by KSh 95.3M in turnover, while KenGen gained 6.97% to KSh 9.82 on 15.4M shares traded. The insurance sector posted modest gains, led by Kenya Re, which advanced 5.67% to KSh 3.17, while Jubilee Holdings rose 7.21% to KSh 345.75.
Among individual stocks, Car & General led weekly gainers with a 12.25% rise, followed by Kenya Power (+10.66%), Co-operative Bank (+8.58%), Jubilee (+7.21%), and KenGen (+6.97%). On the downside, losses were concentrated in select mid-cap names. Standard Group fell 10.94%, Scangroup declined 7.20%, Nation Media dropped 5.51%, Eaagads lost 5.42%, and Centum eased 4.64%.
Foreign investor participation improved modestly. Total foreign buys reached KSh 1.54Bn, while sells stood at KSh 1.48Bn, resulting in a net inflow of KSh 68.1M. Foreign turnover accounted for 43.10% of total market activity, marking a slight increase from the previous week and reinforcing the role of offshore flows in driving large-cap liquidity.
Activity in the bond market also strengthened. Weekly bond turnover surged 82.33% to KSh 42.24Bn, up from KSh 23.16Bn the prior week, while the Bond Index rose 0.67% to 1,157.65, pointing to stable yields amid increased trading volumes. The derivatives market recorded a sharp jump in activity, with 6,848 contracts traded worth KSh 16.21M, up from 740 contracts the previous week.
Corporate developments featured prominently. LAPTRUST Imara I-REIT issued a profit warning, citing a projected decline of at least 25% in earnings for the year ending December 2025 due to lower rental income. Unga Group announced the appointment of Peter Gitau as an Independent Non-Executive Director effective Jan 7, 2026, while Shilpa Haria retired from the board after nine years of service.
On the macro front, conditions remained stable. The shilling strengthened slightly to 129.01 per US dollar, KESONIA eased to 8.96%, and the 91-day Treasury bill held steady at 7.72%. Inflation remained contained at 4.49% in December, while the CBR stayed unchanged at 9.00%.
