Nairobi bourse top stocks gain amid higher inflows

Trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) started Monday on a high as share prices of 13 top stocks went up by between 0.4 and 3 percent, attracting inflows.

Only four stocks in the top 20 category declined while the rest remained unchanged in a session that recorded minimal trading.

East African nation's leading telecom operator Safaricom and Kenya Airways were the top movers and attracted the most foreign inflows.

Safaricom moved 5 million shares during the session after going up 1.5 percent to 0.20 dollars, reversing a trend last week that saw it lose and attract outflows.

On the other hand, Kenya Airways sustained gains it started last week following talks between pilots' union, management and government to chart a new path for the troubled airline.

The share went up 8 percent Monday to trade at a new high of 0.06 dollars, which is more than double its recent price.

East African Breweries Ltd (EABL) was the third top mover after trading 1 million shares, most of them foreign outflows, at an unchanged price of 2.72 dollars.

The rise in prices of the large stocks is good news to investors, who last week saw a majority of the stocks, including Safaricom, Equity Bank and EABL, lose up to 3 percent of value.

In total, some 10 million shares valued at 4.4 million shares were traded, from 25 million valued at 5 million posted on Friday. Endit