Safaricom share hits record high in Nairobi bourse

Kenya's leading telecom company Safaricom's share went up 2.3 percent Wednesday to hit 0.18 U.S. dollars at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), a record high for the company that debuted at 0.05 dollars in 2008.

The surge in price saw the company move 18 million shares, a new high in recent times, up from 9.4 million dollars Tuesday.

Investors have been keenly watching the stock after the company announced over 300 million U.S. dollars profit last month, which analysts attributed for the price swell.

The 0.18 dollars price made the share attract the most foreign buys, beating East African Breweries Ltd.

Safaricom's surge saw the NSE 20 Share Index go up 0.52 points to stand at 3,798.26, while the All Share Index ended 0.80 points higher at 145.43 and the NSE 25 Share Index was up 6.18 points to settle at 4,120.23.

Overall, some 29 million shares valued at 7.8 million dollars were traded at the bourse Wednesday, down from 30 million shares valued at 9.3 million Tuesday.

Other top movers were the banking sector, which cumulatively traded 7.3 million shares, representing 25 percent of the day's traded volume.

The energy and petroleum sector had 1.5 million shares traded, with KenGen moving 1.3 million shares at 0.07 dollars.

The manufacturing and allied sector moved 851,000 shares, the insurance sector 841,000 shares, while the agricultural sector was the least mover, trading a paltry 101,000 shares.

The bond market had securities worth 24 million dollars transacted, down from 30 million dollars. Endit