[Graph in pdf]
Equities Market
Equities maintained an uptrend in the third week of August, attracting 2.6% average gain supported by the ongoing earnings season and the downing interest rates which leaves equities investing the next option. NSE 20 stocks gained the most at 3.3% followed by NSE 10 and NSE 25 with 2.5% and 1.9% gains, respectively.
Eleven out of the thirteen sectors recorded price upticks on average, signaling general rise in prices in most of the listed companies. Year to date, the market has gained 35.7% as measured by the Nairobi-allshare Index (NASI) which hit 170.03 points mark at the close of the week, a level last seen in early January 2022. Investment Services, Exchange Traded Funds and the Agriculture sector lead the market with average gains of 45.5%, 11.5% and 10.4%, respectively.
Volumes traded jumped 29.7% from 97.24Mn to 126.13Mn shares to push the day’s value traded 28.6% up week on week (w-w) from KES 2,290.32Mn to KES 2,946.26Mn.
Foreign activity dropped from 34.2% to 28.9% with a jump in net foreign inflows from KES 329.33Mn to KES 426.50Mn. Heavy foreign activity happened on the telecommunication, banking and the manufacturing sectors.
Heavy market focus was on the banking sector, telecommunication and the manufacturing sectors which moved KES 1,505.05Mn or 51.1%, KES 691.04Mn or 23.5% and KES 432.69Mn or 14.7% of the market turnovers. The three sectors accounted for 89.2% of the market turnovers and 64.6% of the market shares traded.
KCB Group emerged the week’s top mover with KES 729.69Mn turnover from 13.41Mn shares whose price stabilized at KES 54.00 per share. This is after the counter’s valuation improved following a stellar HY- 2025 financial performance and the KES 4.00 interim dividend whose book closure and payment dates are set for 3rd September and 11th November 2025, respectively. Find out our earnings update HERE.
Equity Group and Stanbic closed 3rd and 5th positions with KES 379.13Mn and KES 85.95Mn after changing hands 6.86Mn and 0.47Mn shares. Attention on the two counters remain Equity Group remain supported by the earnings released with Equity Group appearing to be a major foreign destination in the week.
The telco giant, Safaricom, emerged the week’s second mover with KES 691.04Mn after trading 25.01MN shares. The telco’s price attracted 5.0% w-w gain from KES 26.90 to KES 28.25 per share rallied by the Safaricom Ethiopia breakeven projections whose 90-day active subscribers surpassed the 10-million mark.
The telco recorded the highest foreign activity averaging at 67.9% of KES 469.03Mn.
[Graph in pdf]
Bonds Market
The Secondary bonds market value traded doubled from KES 27.90Bn to KES 57.28Bn mainly supported by the on-the run papers which entered the secondary market in the week. This saw the number of deals climb 65.2% up from 574 to 948 deals.
The IFB1/2022/19 paper, re-opened in August 2025, emerged the week’s top mover with KES 19.75Bn or 34.5% of the market value, after its yield to maturity declined 49.2bps from 13.2535% to 12.7614%. This was as some investors from its primary auction cashed in while the paper’s YTM declined faster at 123.8bps from the 13.991% YTM accepted in the primary to 12.7614%.
In the coming week, we expect a spike in the secondary market activity as the primary papers entered the secondary market immediately after the week’s tap-sale whose value date is happening on 25th August 2025.
The tap sale issued on Tuesday, 19th August closed on Wednesday, 20th August 2025, where the government reced KES 207.45Bn while accepting KES 179.77Bn whose value date payment will happen on 25th August 2025.
[Graph in pdf]
Yield Curve
The yield curve shifted down in the week in both the short-end, the middle and the long-end.
The middle curve shifted down faster between the 8-year and the 14-year papers largely informed by the IFB1/2018/015 (7.6-year paper) and the IFB1/2022/019 (15.6-years). This was further supported by the IFB1/2022/019 which has a partial redemption of 50% of its total holdings in the next 6.5-years on 9th February 2032.
The short-end down-ward shift was mainly influenced by heavy demand on IFB1/2018/015 which has a partial redemption of 40% of its holdings in the next 2.4-year on 17th January 2028.
[Graph in pdf]
Interbank
The interbank rose marginally in the week moving from 9.44% to 9.46%. Average interbank however declined 8.7bps from 9.53% to 9.45%.
Average liquidity demand fell 5.7% w-w to KES 6.20Bn to push the average liquidity demand 36.7% demand from KES 9.79Bn to KES 6.20Bn.
Bank excess reserves climbed 300.0% up from KES 7.60Bn to KES 30.40Bn largely on funds conserved for the August tap-sale value payment that will happen on 25th August 2025.
[Graph in pdf]
Treasury Bills
Weekly T-bills auction was oversubscribed for the first time after three consecutive weeks of undersubscriptions to receive a total of KES 27.24Bn while the government accepting KES 24.27Bn, representing a 101.1% performance against the KES 24.00Bn target.
The performance was supported by the upcoming maturities of KES 23.77Bn due on 25th August 2025 reinvested back plus some new investments amounting to KES 4.69Bn.
Returns on investment further declined in the week led by the 182-day paper which lost 4.9bps from 8.1195% to 8.0706%. The 91- and 364-day paper lost about 1.0bp each.
In the coming auction for value date 1st September2025, we anticipate maturities of KES 29.44Bn most of which will support subscriptions for next week’s auction.
[Graph in pdf]
Currency
The shilling further stabilized at KES 129.24 per US dollar both on average and on week on week comparisons.
The shilling remain supported by sufficient forex reserves which stood at USD 11,037Mn to account for 4.8- months of import cover. These reserves re largely elevated by diaspora remittances, receipts from exports of tea, coffee and horticultural crops, and receipts from development partners.
Diaspora remittance for July 2025 stood at USD 410.10Bn reflecting a 1.0% drop from that received in Jul 2024. Month on month, the remittances dropped 3.0% from that of USD 422.83Bn received in June 2025.
