Kenya Equities Market Update – 10th October 2025

Market Performance

The equities market registered a downward trend during the week, with all major indices closing lower. The Nairobi All Share Index (NASI) declined the most by 3.3%, followed by the NSE 20 and NSE 25, which shed 2.9% and 1.8%, respectively. The NSE 10 also recorded a 1.8% drop.

As a result, the year-to-date (YTD) performance stood at gains of 42.9% (NSE 20), 37.7% (NASI), 32.6% (NSE 25), and 32.4% (NSE 10).

The week’s performance was largely driven by losses among key large-cap counters, including:

• Safaricom (-6.2%)
• Co-operative Bank (-3.4%)
• NCBA (-2.5%)

These declines outweighed the modest gains posted by:

• EABL (+1.9%)
• Equity Group (+1.3%)
• Stanbic Bank (+0.5%)

The selling pressure in Safaricom—Kenya’s largest listed company by market capitalization—had a particularly strong drag effect on the NASI, reflecting continued portfolio rebalancing by foreign investors and muted domestic demand amid tighter liquidity conditions.

Market Activity

Trading activity slowed during the week, with equities turnover falling by 17.3% to USD 13.4 million, down from USD 16.2 million recorded the previous week. This brought the year-to-date total turnover to USD 808.5 million.

Foreign investor activity reversed course, turning net sellers for the first time in two weeks, with net outflows of USD 0.7 million, compared to net inflows of USD 0.9 million the previous week. Consequently, the YTD cumulative net selling position widened marginally to USD 55.1 million, highlighting continued caution among offshore investors following mixed corporate earnings and global market uncertainty.

Weekly Highlight: Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc (KPLC) FY’2025 Results

During the week, Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc (KPLC) released its FY’2025 financial results, reporting a profit after tax (PAT) of Kshs 24.5 billion, representing an 18.7% decline from Kshs 30.1 billion recorded in FY’2024.

The contraction in earnings was mainly attributable to:

• A 7.3% decline in gross profit to Kshs 74.6 billion, from Kshs 80.5 billion in FY’2024, following a 5.1% drop in total revenue to Kshs 219.3 billion, which outpaced the 3.9% reduction in cost of sales to Kshs 144.7 billion.
• A significant increase in net finance costs, which swung to a loss of Kshs 4.7 billion from a gain of Kshs 0.7 billion in FY’2024, largely due to higher interest expenses and lower foreign exchange gains.

Despite the earnings decline, KPLC’s balance sheet strengthened, with total assets rising by 8.6% to Kshs 389.0 billion, driven by a 25.8% growth in current assets, while total equity expanded by 25.2% to Kshs 109.3 billion. This reflects improved capital structure and liquidity management, even as the company navigates operational and regulatory headwinds in the energy sector.

Outlook

The near-term outlook for the equities market remains cautiously optimistic, supported by:

• A stable macroeconomic environment, anchored by moderating inflation and accommodative monetary policy,
• Improving investor sentiment following Kenya’s successful Eurobond operations, and
• Attractive valuations across select banking and manufacturing counters.

However, persistent foreign investor risk aversion, currency volatility, and sluggish corporate earnings recovery may continue to exert pressure on short-term market performance.

Sources: Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc (KPLC), CBK

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