NSE Market Wrap — Friday, 22 May 2026
The Nairobi bourse closed Friday's session marginally higher, with the NSE 20 Share Index inching up 3.22 points (+0.09%) to settle at 3,488.45. The broader NASI added 0.45 points to finish at 206.21, a 0.22% gain. Despite Friday's modest advance, the benchmark NSE 20 ended the week 1.03% lower, though it remains up 11.13% year-to-date.
Activity was steady. Total equity turnover came in at KES 557.76 million on 14.18 million shares across 9,297 deals — the deal count rose by 580 on the previous session. Market capitalisation stood at KES 3.42 trillion.
Agriculture and media counters led the gainers' board. Kakuzi was the day's biggest winner, climbing 6.18%, followed by Nation Media Group at +5.32% and Olympia Capital Holdings at +4.73%.
Selling pressure landed on a mixed bag. Sasini led the decliners, shedding 8.74%, ahead of Eaagads (-4.93%) and the Nairobi Securities Exchange Ltd counter itself (-4.36%).
Banking dominated volume. Equity Group Holdings was the most active counter with 4.71 million shares changing hands, well ahead of Kenya Power (2.55 million) and Absa Bank Kenya (1.28 million). The three counters together accounted for roughly 60% of the day's traded volume.
The session capped a softer week for the headline index, but a positive close on Friday and broad participation across NASI suggest buying interest remains intact heading into next week. With the NSE 20 trading roughly 7% off its 52-week high of 3,758.73, the technical setup is still constructive provided liquidity holds.