Equities Market
Equities posted a modest uptick in the first week of June, rising by 2.3% on average, largely supported by gains in the most liquid counters (NSE 10) that rose by 2.2% on average with the Automobiles, Telecommunication and insurance sectors gaining 6.9%, 3.9% and 2.9% respectively. NSE 20 and NSE 25 counters accelerated by 1.3% and 2.3% respectively while the banking sector rose by 2.5%.
Market activity softened during the week, with total turnover declining by 29.5% to KES 3,402.65Mn from KES 4,824.07Mn. This was despite a 3.7% surge in traded volumes to 109.89Mn shares from 105.94Mn shares.
Foreign investor participation slightly rose to 32.4% from 32.0%, with a net foreign outflow of KES 251.24Mn from a net foreign inflow of KES 1,654.79Mn the prior week. Equity Group recorded net foreign inflows, while Safaricom registered net foreign outflows.
Trading remained concentrated in the banking, telecommunications, and energy & petroleum sectors, which jointly accounted for 93.4% of total turnover and 73.0% of traded volumes. The banking sector dominated activity, contributing 50.5% of turnover, followed by telecommunications at 38.7%.
Safaricom was the top mover of the week, with turnover growing to KES 1,317.38Mn from KES 461.12Mn, alongside a surge in traded volumes to 41.94Mn shares from 15.01Mn shares. This was despite a decline in foreign participation from 55.1% to 52.3%, even as the share price gained 3.9% to close at KES 31.75 from KES 30.55.
Equity Group came in second, posting a turnover of KES 519.35Mn from 6.76Mn shares a decline compared to KES 1,187.95Mn from 16.19Mn shares traded last week. This was despite a rise in foreign activity from 36.6% to 48.0%. Its share price rose by 4.0% week on week to KES 77.25 from KES 74.25.
KCB Group followed, recording a turnover of KES 453.06Mn from 6.54Mn shares, down from KES 2,084.54Mn and 31.26Mn shares in the previous week. This drop was driven by a decline in foreign activity, which sank to 18.5% from 30.7%, with its share price raising to KES 70.75 from KES 66.75 last week.
On the gainers’ side, Longhorn led with an 8.3% increase in its share price to KES 2.88 from KES 2.66. Jubilee followed with a 7.3% gain to KES 394.00 from KES 367.25, while Car and General rose by 6.9% to close at KES 84.75 from KES 79.25.
[Graph in PDF]
Bonds Market
Activity in the secondary bond market declined week-on-week, with turnover falling by 36.7% to KES 23.51Bn from KES 37.14Bn, largely influenced by the primary auction that happened on Wednesday 3rd June 2026.
The IFB1/2022/19Yrs bond emerged as the most actively traded paper, recording a turnover of KES 3.61Bn, followed by the FXD1/2021/20yrs bond, which posted KES 3.14Bn in turnover.
In the coming week secondary market activity is expected to pick up, supported by the entry of the recently auctioned papers into the secondary market.
[Graph in PDF]
Yield Curve
The yield curve shifted upward during the week, largely influenced by the primary bond auction that happened on Wednesday, 3rd June 2026.
At the short end, yields shifted upwards, driven by the auction of FXD1/2020/15yr which happened during the week.
A similar upward movement was observed along the long end of the curve, particularly around the FXD1/2018/25yrs bond, where yields surged in anticipation of the primary auction.
Looking ahead, yields are expected to ease in the coming week as investors offload newly auctioned papers to participants who missed in the primary market.
[Graph in PDF]
Interbank
The interbank rate remained stable at 8.75%, with the weekly average also holding at 8.75%, reflecting stable liquidity conditions in the market.
Weekly closing demand declined significantly by 48.5% to KES 7.00Bn from KES 13.59Bn. Similarly, average demand fell by 46.0% to KES 9.77Bn from KES 18.07Bn, indicating reduced liquidity demand during the week.
Bank excess reserves shot up by 17.6% from KES 13.760Bn to KES 16.00Bn week on week.
[Graph in PDF]
T-Bills
The weekly Treasury bills auction was oversubscribed, with total bids amounting to KES 54.58Bn against an offer of KES 24.00Bn, translating to a subscription rate of 227.4%. The government accepted KES 54.55Bn from the total bids received.
Investor appetite remained strongly skewed towards the 91-day paper, which recorded a significant oversubscription of 820.7%, attracting KES 32.83Bn in bids, of which KES 32.82Bn was accepted. The 364 day paper was also oversubscribed by 152.3%, with KES 15.23Bn being subscribed and KES 15.20Bn being accepted.
The strong performance at the auction was supported by T-bill maturities totaling KES 59.57Bn on 8th June 2026. Additionally, KES 10.66Bn is set to mature on 15th June 2026, and the re-investment of these proceeds is expected to further support demand in upcoming auctions.
[Graph in PDF]
Currency
The Kenyan shilling strengthen by 0.2% week-on-week, averaging KES 129.32 against the US dollar. Additionally, it recorded gains against other major currencies, appreciating by 0.6% against the Japanese yen, by 0.4% against the euro, and by 0.2% against the British pound.
Foreign exchange reserves declined by 0.1% (USD 8Mn) to USD 13.20Bn from USD 13.21Bn in the previous week, equivalent to 5.6 months of import cover. Despite the decline, reserves remain supported by strong diaspora remittances and agricultural export earnings, even as external debt servicing continues to exert pressure.
Remittance inflows fell to USD 397.8Mn in April 2026 from USD 421.1Mn in March, marking an 11.7% month-on-month decline. However, on a rolling 12-month basis, cumulative inflows rose by 1.1% to USD 5,053Mn, compared to USD 4,997Mn in the same period last year.
