The Nairobi bourse closed marginally lower on Friday as a quiet session ended a soft week, with the benchmark NSE 20-Share Index slipping 7.38 points to 3,524.70, a 0.21% retreat from Thursday's 3,532.08 close. The broader NSE All-Share Index (NASI) eased 1.04 points to 205.60, a 0.5% decline that signalled wider weakness beneath the blue-chip surface.
Activity was subdued. Equity turnover came in at KES 391.0 million across 9,080 deals, with 13.21 million shares changing hands — a meaningful pullback from Thursday's KES 887.9 million print, suggesting institutional desks stepped back ahead of the weekend.
Winners
• Eaagads (EGAD) led the board, advancing 8.39% as the thinly-traded agricultural counter saw a fresh bid emerge. • Standard Group (SGL) climbed 6.29%, continuing its low-base recovery on light volume. • East African Breweries (EABL) added 2.64%, the standout move among the heavyweights and the main reason the benchmark didn't fall further.
Losers
• Longhorn Publishers (LKL) was the day's worst performer, dropping 7.82%. • Africa Mega Agricorp (AMAC) shed 4.59% on continued distribution. • Shri Krishna Overseas (SKL) eased 3.88% to round out the underperformers.
Most Active
• Kenya Re-Insurance led volume with 2.82 million shares traded, suggesting block-trade positioning ahead of the FY dividend window. • Safaricom followed with 2.56 million shares — the telco remains the market's liquidity anchor even on lighter sessions. • Co-operative Bank changed hands on 1.94 million shares, consistent with steady banking-sector rotation.
Takeaway: EABL's bid wasn't enough to offset broader breadth weakness and the volume drop-off, leaving the tape with a defensive bias into the weekend. The month-to-date picture remains soft, with the NSE 20 down roughly 2.6% over the last month even as year-on-year gains hold above 60%.
Sources:
• AFX Kwayisi NSE Summary • NSE Official Market Statistics • TradingEconomics Kenya