African equity markets swung sharply higher at the end of May as a big macro allocation into emerging markets started to spill over into African equity markets.
The Nigerian All Share, for example, with a President absent in London and a Caracas like FX trading regime is now +25.81% in 2017 and at a two year high.
Here in Nairobi we entered a bull market at the end of May [+20% from a low] and we have seen a significant uplift in prices.
My sense is that those who have bagged some big gains are surely going to take some tips off the table now and that this bull is mature, for now.
Safaricom retreated -2.13% to close at 23.00 and traded 3.425m
shares on
the day that Safaricom announced the launch of a Safaricom music App. This might represent the tip of
the spear with regard to a major e-commerce roll-out.
“Skiza is great but you need to be able to stream your music. People need to be able to stream and buy your full tracks. That is why we are launching a Safaricom music app where you can put your music for sale. I don’t believe your music should be free, it doesn’t work for me,” Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said.
Safaricom is +20.1044% in 2017 and firmly in a bull trend.
Kenya Airways maintained its three day rebound [after a steep sell-off] and rallied +2.63% to close at 5.85 and was trading at 6.00 +5.26% at the finish Line. Kenya Airways traded 777,500 shares.
Standard Group rallied +6.85% to close at 39.00 a fresh 2017 high and is +136.36% in 2017 which makes it the best performer at the Securities Exchange this year.
KCB Group
corrected -2.72% lower to close at 36.00 and traded 4.573m
shares. KCB has corrected -10.00% lower this month but remains +25.21% through 2017.
Equity Group retreated -2.56% to close at 38.00 and was trading session lows of 36.50 -6.41% at
the closing bell. Equity Group has corrected -5.00% off a 2017
high of 40.00 reached June 15 and is +26.66% through 2017.
National Bank surged a further +8.62% to close at a fresh 2017 high of 10.70. National Bank is +57.35% this month and since the KCB share-swap/acquisition story broke.
EABL pushed on +1.56% to close at a fresh 2017 high of 260.00 and has been playing catch-up of late and is +6.55% in 2017.
KenGen rallied +2.33% to score a fresh 2017 closing high of 8.80 and is now plus a blistering +51.72% in 2017.
Crown Paints announced the following: “The company be and is hereby authorised to purchase a maximum of 10,677,150 ordinary shares representing up to 15 per cent of the company’s current issued share capital as quoted on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.”
Crown Paints trades on a P/E of more than 30 and therefore this proposed share buy-back is expensive on the global buy-back scale. Crown Paints traded 600 shares at 62.00 +8.77% and is +47.619% in 2017.
Mumias Sugar closed +4.34% at 1.20 its highest closing price this year. Mumias Sugar is up a mind boggling 60% this month but this is high beta and very speculative and a signal that this bull rally at the NSE is seriously mature.