Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)
is essentially this: activity was high, but the stocks that matter most to the index were dragging it down.
NASI Slips 0.3% But Still Up 14.5% for the Year
The benchmark Nairobi All Share Index (NASI) declined by 0.3%, closing at 205.7 points from 206.2 points the previous week. The losses were concentrated in large-cap banking names.
Equity Group
fell 2.3%, Stanbic Holdings dropped 1.8%, and DTB Group declined 1.5%. Together, those three counters were enough to tip the index negative.
The damage could have been worse. BAT Kenya posted a gain of 3.4% and
East African Breweries Limited (EABL)
added 1.3%, providing meaningful support that kept the weekly loss contained. Despite the dip, NASI remains up a solid 14.5% on a year-to-date basis a number that tells a more encouraging story about where the market has come from in 2026.
Index Performance Across the Board
The NSE’s other indices largely mirrored the NASI’s weekly direction. The NSE 10 closed at 2,154.68 points, down 0.38%, while the NSE 25 slipped 0.42% to 5,659.05 points. The exception was the NSE 20, which bucked the trend and advanced 0.71% to close at 3,513.1 points suggesting that mid-tier counters outside the large-cap banking space held up reasonably well.
The Banking Sector Index closed at 233.48 points, down 0.67% from 235.05 points in the prior week confirming that financial stocks were the primary source of pressure across the market.
Turnover Jumps 76.4% The Market Was Busy
Whatever the index movement suggested, there was no shortage of activity on the trading floor. The volume of shares traded surged 44.4% to 105.9 million shares, and equity turnover jumped 76.4% to KES 4.8 billion from KES 2.7 billion the week before. That kind of turnover spike, even in a down week, indicates genuine investor engagement people were buying and selling, not sitting on the sidelines.
Top Gainers of the Week
BK Group PLC was the standout performer of the week, surging 14.1% to lead all gainers. Express Kenya came in second with a 7.2% rise, followed by Eaagads PLC at 6.8%. Standard Group gained 4.7% and Shri Krishana Overseas Limited rounded out the top five with a 4.1% advance.
Top Losers of the Week
On the other side of the ledger, Longhorn Publishers was the week’s biggest decliner, falling 10.7%. Eveready East Africa dropped 8.9%, while BAT Kenya despite its weekly index contribution being positive still features here with a 4.3% loss on certain trading days. TPS Serena fell 4.1% and Uchumi Supermarket declined 3.2%.
Who Was Trading? Local Investors Dominated
Local investors were firmly in control of market activity during the week, accounting for KES 3.3 billion in turnover equivalent to 68% of the total. Foreign investors contributed KES 1.5 billion, representing 32% of market activity.
Notably, foreign investor sentiment shifted sharply during the week. After recording net outflows of KES 245 million the previous week, foreign investors swung to net inflows of KES 1.7 billion in Week 22. That is a significant turnaround and a signal worth watching when foreign capital starts moving into a market, it often precedes broader positive momentum.
Fixed Income: Bond Turnover Up 25.9%
Activity in the fixed income segment also picked up pace. Bond turnover reached KES 37.1 billion for the week, up 25.9% from KES 29.5 billion the prior week. The fixed income market’s growing activity is consistent with the broader environment as inflation rises and interest rate expectations shift, bonds and treasury instruments tend to attract more attention from investors repositioning their portfolios.
The Week Ahead: Inflation and the CBK’s Next Move
The market’s near-term direction will be shaped heavily by one event: the
Central Bank of Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting
scheduled for Tuesday, 9 June 2026.
The meeting comes at a sensitive moment.
Kenya’s headline inflation accelerated to 6.7% in May,
up from 5.5% in April, driven largely by elevated fuel prices linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict keeping global oil markets tight. That reading has shifted expectations where the CBK had been cutting rates for ten consecutive meetings, the latest inflation print introduces the real possibility of a pause, or even a reversal.
For equity investors, a tightening signal from the CBK would carry two implications. First, treasury bills and bonds become more attractive on a yield basis, pulling some capital out of equities. Second, higher borrowing costs squeeze corporate margins particularly for consumer-facing businesses already dealing with rising operating expenses. Banking stocks, already the week’s weakest performers, could face further pressure if the rate outlook turns hawkish.
The year-to-date gain of 14.5% gives the NSE some buffer. But with inflation rising, the policy meeting on Tuesday, and global oil prices remaining unpredictable, Week 23 is unlikely to be a quiet one.
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