The shilling remains locked at an eight-month high versus the dollar and was last trading at 101.192.
Forex reserves scored a record all-time high of $7.56b (4.92 months of import cover). The Nairobi All Share retreated 1.30 points off a 20-month closing high to close at 146.25. The Nairobi NSE20 pushed 9.03 points higher to close at 4019.85.
Equity turnover was subdued and clocked just 214.466million for one of the slowest sessions of the year.
Commercial and Services
Safaricom will report its full year earnings on May 11. I expect an all-time high print ahead of that release. Safaricom reached a 2016 closing high of 17.50 on April 20. Safaricom eased back -0.88 per cent on low ticket size (just 1.060 million shares) to close at 16.95. The ignition key will turn imminently.
Kenya Airways edged -1.23 per cent lower following on Friday's steep -7.95 per cent slump to close at 4.00 a 2016 low. KQ traded 2.16 million shares. Talk of government converting into equity has hit the stock on concerns about further dilution.
Nation Media was high-ticked +5.95 per cent to close at 178.00 and traded 300 shares only.
KCB Group CEO had a Tweetchat yesterday answering questions on the Chase Bank situation. As expected of the 'algorithmic' banker Joshua Oigara. Kenya Commercial Bank closed unchanged at 42.50 and traded 674,100 shares. KCB sits in pole position at this moment of consolidation and the share price has yet to bake that fact into the price.
I&M Bank (where CDC Group snaffled up a 10.68 per cent stake this month, firmed +1.19 per cent to regain a 2016 closing high of 107.00 and traded 600,000 shares worth 64.5 million.
Standard Chartered Bank which turned ex-bonus yesterday retreated -10.44 per cent to close at 223.00 on 9,200 shares of business. The reaction is over-cooked.
Athi River Cement surged +5.38 per cent to close at 34.25 that caps a +18.10 per cent rebound this month. ARM traded 64,400 shares and buyers are anticipating the imminent announcement of a strategic equity investor.
KenGen eased -0.57 per cent off a 2016 high to close at 8.65 and traded 125,500 shares. There were buyers for five times the volume traded yesterday signalling corrections will be shallow. KenGen has rallied +21.83 per cent in 2016 admittedly from a position of price of disequilibrium.
KPLC traded +3.63 per cent better to close at 11.40.