The Nairobi All Share retreated 2.02 points to close at 144.73. The NSE20 Index retreated 6.35 points to close at 3456.21 which is close to a 52-month low. Trading was subdued at just 229.672m.
Tea shares have been soft of late and prices have fallen below equilibrium. Yesterday, we saw buyers trying and puck up stock at these low levels but supply was very thin.
Kapchorua Tea surged +6.25 per cent to close at 85.00.
Sasini Tea and coffee up ticked +2.63 per cent to close at 19.50. Safaricom eased by 2.35 per cent off a record closing high to close at 20.75 and traded 2.266m shares. Safaricom has served up a mouth-watering 36.13 per cent total return in 2016 and I expect corrections to remain shallow and contained ahead of a move through 22.50 before year end.
Equity Group reported first half earnings before the opening bell yesterday morning.It had
a 13.556 per cent expansion in loans and advances to customers to clock Sh269.03 billion. Profit after tax accelerated by 18.009 per cent and earning per share increased to 2.68. South Sudan crimped earnings with pretax profit down 112 per cent
year-on-year. The loan book declined by 91 per cent and deposits by 69 per cent. This sub-narrative has played across all banks operating in South Sudan. Loan loss provisions grew by 182 per cent to Sh1.9 billion and The non performing loan ratio was 4.6 per cent. Equity Group eased by 1.98 per cent to close at 37.00 and traded 1.250 million shares worth 46.352m.
KCB Group closed unchanged at 32.50 and traded 2.358m shares worth 76.623m. Standard Chartered which has been a bull outlier in the banking component at the NSE and
up 29.12 per cent
in 2016 on a total return basis shaved off 0.96 per cent to close at 206.00 and traded 51,000 shares.
COOP Bank fell -3.55 per cent to close at a 2016 Low of 13.60. COOP Bank is
down 24.44 per cent in 2016. BAT traded 12,100 shares all at 817.00 +1.49 per cent. BAT is up 4.522 per cent this year and has headroom. The Stanlib -Fahari I-Reit slumped -7.522 per cent to close at a fresh time low of 10.45 and on heavy volume action of 1.044m shares. Stanlib has melted 52.5 per cent since the start of the year and has probably suffered contagion via the thrice extended Fusion DREIT.
Stanlib reported seven-month earnings lastTuesday but they were not sufficient to arrest the price decline which actually accelerated after that earnings release.
Total Kenya surged by 9.39 per cent to close at a 10-week high of 18.05.