Equities Market Update – Week Ending 16th May 2025

Strong Bullish Momentum Propels Kenyan Equities

The Kenyan equities market posted a strong performance for the week, driven by positive investor sentiment, improved financial disclosures, and renewed foreign interest. All major indices closed in the green:

• The NSE 10 led the rally, gaining 6.6%
• The NASI was up 5.8%
• The NSE 25 rose 5.6%
• The NSE 20 advanced 4.1%

These gains pushed the year-to-date (YTD) performance to +7.1% for NASI, +6.7% for NSE 20, +3.7% for NSE 25, and +3.2% for NSE 10.

Market Drivers

The rally was largely supported by strong investor appetite for banking and blue-chip counters. Top gainers included:

• KCB Bank, which jumped 11.3%
• East African Breweries Limited (EABL), up 10.2%
• Co-operative Bank, gaining 8.8%

On the downside, Bamburi Cement was the notable decliner, dropping 4.4% during the week.

Trading Activity

Market turnover rose significantly, increasing by 81.5% to USD 25.1 million, up from USD 13.8 million the previous week. This brought the total turnover so far in 2025 to USD 300.4 million.

Importantly, foreign investors turned net buyers for the first time in six weeks, recording a net buying position of USD 1.9 million, compared to a net selling position of USD 0.3 million the week prior. However, the year-to-date foreign net selling position still stands at USD 30.1 million.

Corporate Earnings – Co-operative Bank Q1’2025

Co-op Bank released its Q1 results, posting a 5.3% increase in Profit After Tax to Kshs 6.9 billion, up from Kshs 6.6 billion in Q1’2024. The results were underpinned by:

• A 12.8% rise in operating income to Kshs 21.2 billion
• A 19.1% increase in operating expenses, largely due to a 32.6% rise in loan loss provisions

Despite rising costs, the bank maintained profitability, signaling solid fundamentals and prudent risk management.