Nairobi bourse's key stocks fall as foreign sales swell

Several key stocks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) extended their losses Friday, pushing down overall trading by 9 percent.

Some 23.4 million shares worth 6.6 million U.S. dollars were traded, down from 41.8 million shares worth 7.3 million dollars Thursday.

East African nation's leading telecom, Safaricom, led in share losses during the trading by going down 3 percent to stand at an average of 0.17 dollars.

Safaricom traded a paltry 2.6 million shares, down from 23 million in the previous session as foreign sales surpassed the buys.

Equity Bank, under the banking sector, moved 9.3 million shares to be the top mover at a declined price of 0.38 dollars, a drop of 2.5 percent.

Similarly, the Co-operative Bank went down 1 percent to trade at 0.16 dollars, moving 6 million shares. As with Safaricom, foreign sales in the banking sector outweighed buys.

The banking sector in total moved 55 million shares that accounted for 38 percent of the week's traded volume. Of the shares, Equity Bank was the most heavily traded counter, moving 29 million shares.

The energy and petroleum sector moved 10 million shares during the week, insurance, 4.6 million, and commercial and services, 5.2 million.

With the plunge of the share prices, the benchmark NSE 20 Share Index closed at 3,744 points, its lowest level since mid-2012. The index has lost over 1,000 points in the last one year.

The bond market witnessed an upswing in activity, with securities worth 153 million dollars transacted compared to 93 million posted the previous week. Endit