Kenyan bourse key index hits new low

NAIROBI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) 20 Share Index fell to a new low on Monday, as foreigners sold off various large stocks, including Safaricom.

The index closed the session at 3,477.08, down 17.09 from 3,494.17, pulled down by Safaricom, which dropped 0.9 percent; Sasini, 10 percent; Scangroup, 9 percent; and East African Breweries Ltd, 4 percent, among others.

The stocks are among those with the largest capitalization, in particular Safaricom, therefore, any slight decline affects the index.

Foreigners for the last two weeks have been selling off some of the large stocks, exiting to cash in on higher prices.

Turnover, however, rose as some 24 million shares were traded during the session, up from 16.4 million shares worth 4.5 million dollars posted last Friday. Enditem