The Nairobi Securities Exchange closed its best week since February on Friday, June 19, with four of its five major indices at all-time or multi-month highs and five listed counters touching record prices in the same session, the broadest rally the bourse has recorded in 2026.
•The NSE 25 Share Index closed at 6,049.51, an all-time high and a sharp recovery from its November 2023 low of 2,216, up 18.70% year to date.
•The rally has been broad-based, with 19 of the index’s 25 constituents trading higher on the year, led by Stanbic Holdings (+46.14%), I&M Holdings (+45.47%) and Co-operative Bank (+39.04%).
•Only KenGen, Centum Investment, NSE Plc, HFCB Group, CIC Insurance and Liberty Kenya remain in negative territory for the year.
The NSE 10, launched in September 2023 at a base of 1,000 points, also closed at a record 2,330.06, up 133.01% since inception, with 8 of its 10 constituents trading higher on the year led by I&M Holdings (+45.47%) and Co-operative Bank (+39.04%). The NSE 20 hit 3,646.93, its strongest level since March 19.
The Banking Sector Index closed at 249.24, an all-time high since its launch in October 2025 at a base of 164.75, a gain of 51.28% in under nine months and underscoring how concentrated this rally has been in bank counters. The index is up 22.39% year to date with 10 of its 11 listed bank constituents trading higher on the year, led by Stanbic Holdings (+46.14%) and I&M Holdings (+45.47%), and HF Group the lone laggard at -5.22%.
NSE All Share Index settled at 217.57, its second-highest close since the index launched in 2008 on a 100 base, just behind Wednesday’s record of 219.91.
Total market capitalization closed the week at KSh 3.61Trillion, up KSh 663.71Billion year to date, a figure that includes new listings such as Kenya Pipeline alongside price gains across existing counters. Week 25 alone added KSh145.60bn, the 7th best week for market cap gains since 2008, and lifted the All Share Index 4.21%, the NSE’s best weekly return since Week 7. June, with two weeks still to trade, is already the second-best month of 2026 by market cap gain, behind only February.
Five counters drove the session to record prices.
•Equity Group became only the second NSE counter after Safaricom to cross KSh300bn in market value, closing at KSh301.89bn on the back of FY2025 profit growth of 55% to KSh75.5bn.
•Co-operative Bank breached KSh200bn intraday for the first time, before settling at KSh195.38bn, with FY2025 profit up 16.9% to KSh29.75bn and a board-approved plan to restructure into a holding company.
•I&M Group Holdings crossed KSh100bn for the first time, supported by 22% profit growth and a still-undemanding P/E of 4.72.
•ABSA Bank Kenya rallied on news that Absa Group has launched a tender offer to lift its stake from 68.5% to 85%, buying up to 895.99 million additional shares at KSh34.50 apiece, a 20% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price. The move pushed ABSA past Kenya Pipeline in the market cap rankings.
•Car & General extended its run as the NSE’s top performer in 2026, up 79.2% year to date, after FY2025 profit surged 365.5% on the back of its stake in digital lender Watu Credit.
By the close, 11 counters held market caps above KSh100bn, led by Safaricom at KSh1.31tn, with four, Safaricom, Equity, KCB and EABL, above KSh200bn. Earlier in the session, Co-op Bank had briefly made it five, a first in NSE history.
CompanyMarket CapSafaricom PlcKSh 1.31TnEquity GroupKSh 301.89BnKCB GroupKSh 235.39BnEABLKSh 216.08BnCo-operative BankKSh 195.38BnAbsa Bank KenyaKSh 167.02BnKenya PipelineKSh 165.01BnNCBA GroupKSh 148.28BnStandard CharteredKSh 127.24BnStanbic HoldingsKSh 114.25BnI&M HoldingsKSh 107.45Bn
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