Bountiful Christmas for NSE investors led by banking stocks

It is a bountiful Christmas for investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange following an easy ride in 2025 in which stocks, especially in the banking and manufacturing sectors, gained more than 200 per cent.

This year, the Nairobi bourse staged one of the most powerful rallies in more than a decade, as investor wealth soared by more than Sh1 trillion.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA), said total market capitalisation has catapulted from Sh1.94 trillion in January to Sh2.9 trillion as of December 19, a 53 per cent gain signalling a robust recovery from two consecutive years of steep losses.

Data from the regulator shows the NSE All Share Index (NASI) recorded 52.5 per cent year to date (YTD), its strongest performance since its 2008 launch. The NSE 20 Share Index gained a substantial 55 per cent, tracking its best year since 2003.

NSE 25 and NSE 10 indices are up 46 per cent, with the NSE 10 trading at record highs since its 2023 inception.

On Friday, the NASI, NSE 25 and NSE 20 share price indices increased by 3.48 per cent, 5.15 per cent and 3.93 per cent, respectively.

Market capitalisation increased by four per cent, pushing up investors’ paper wealth by nearly Sh200 billion compared to the previous week.

Equity turnover and total shares traded decreased by 33.38 per cent and 45.82 per cent, respectively.

The financial sector held steady at the lead, with banks dominating the top gainers list on Friday.

Cooperative Bank’s share price gained a further 1.53 per cent on Friday, making it the seventh most traded stock on the NSE over the past three months.

It started the year with a share price of Sh16.45 and has since gained 41.3 per cent on that price valuation, ranking it 31st on the NSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

Equity Bank and Housing Finance stocks also gained the most during the week. Equity gained 1.6 per cent to close the week at Sh62.50.

It began the year with a share price of Sh48.30 and has since gained 29.4 per cent on that price valuation, ranking it 36^th on the NSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

Housing Finance, on the other hand, gained 120 per cent on that price valuation, ranking it 11^th on the NSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

Overall, the Nairobi Securities Exchange Limited is the biggest gainer, having accrued 241 per cent in value in the past 342 days, followed by Home Afrika at 200 per cent and Kenya Re at 134 per cent.

Investors in East Africa Portland Cement, Bamburi Cement and East Africa Breweries Limited have also pocketed premium rewards, propelled by acquisition deals.