Nairobi Securities Exchange — NSE 25 Gains 1.0% for Sept. 21-25 as Liberty, Britam Rise Despite 34 Decliners
The NSE 25 rose 1.0% in the week of Sept. 21-25, 2026, but market breadth stayed weak with 34 losers out of 55 stocks. Liberty Kenya (+3.3%) and Britam (+3.0%) led gains, while TotalEnergies Kenya, Car & General, Safaricom and Nation Media drove the earnings flow.
|7 min read
Kenya’s equity market ended the week of Sept. 21-25, 2026 with a split message: the NSE 25 rose 1.0% to 2,770.18 on Friday, yet the broader tape looked far weaker, with 34 decliners, just 11 gainers and 10 unchanged counters out of 55 listed stocks. That divergence matters because it shows the benchmark’s rise was not a broad-based rally, but a narrower move supported by selected names and a heavy stream of corporate announcements.
News flow was unusually dense on Sept. 25, with 20 official announcements including results from Safaricom, TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya, Car & General Kenya, Nation Media Group and Nairobi Securities Exchange. According to exchange statements, the bourse also appointed Sterling Capital as a market maker for the NEXT derivatives market, launched a Banking Sector Index, admitted Fintrust Securities as an authorized dealer in fixed income and announced the upcoming listing of the Satrix MSCI World Feeder ETF. Taken together, those steps matter because they broaden the market beyond domestic equities at a time when investors are looking for more tools, more liquidity and easier diversification.
- Top losers: Nation Media Group -6.7%, Umeme -4.3%, Eaagads -4.1%
- Most active by traded value: Equity Group KES 251.7 million, EABL KES 170.1 million, NSE Plc KES 80.9 million
Market context: benchmark up, but the Kenya stock market stayed narrow
For readers tracking NSE Kenya today, the key takeaway is not only the 1.0% gain in the NSE 25, but the fact that nearly 62% of listed counters fell on the reference session. That kind of breadth usually points to a selective market rather than a clean risk-on move. Financials and a handful of defensive names provided support, while media, some industrials and several smaller counters came under pressure.
Trading value clustered around five names. Equity Group led with KES 251.7 million, followed by East African Breweries at KES 170.1 million, Nairobi Securities Exchange at KES 80.9 million, Safaricom at KES 47.0 million and KCB Group at KES 35.9 million. Even so, Equity Group (-1.4%), Safaricom (-0.1%) and KCB (-1.9%) were not the week’s leadership names, which reinforces the idea of rotation rather than a market-wide advance. For investors following NSE share prices, that split between liquidity and performance is important: money was moving, but not in a uniformly bullish way.
Global macro also fed into local positioning. The U.S. dollar rose 0.79% against the shilling to 129.52 KES, which is a headwind for import-heavy businesses because it raises local-currency costs for fuel, equipment and consumer goods. At the same time, Brent crude fell 6.8% on the day to $99.32 a barrel, though it remained elevated in absolute terms. For Kenya, a net oil importer, lower crude is broadly supportive for transport costs, the energy bill and imported inflation. But the transmission is uneven: oil marketers, airlines and industrial companies feel the impact on different timelines and through different margin structures.
Liberty Kenya and Britam lead a selective financials rebound
The week’s best performer was Liberty Kenya Holdings, up 3.3% to KES 9.30, followed by Britam Holdings, which gained 3.0% to KES 19.15. BOC Kenya added 2.4% to KES 192.0, while BK Group rose 1.7% to KES 61.0. The leadership from insurers and financial services names is notable. In a market dealing with currency pressure and mixed earnings signals, investors often gravitate toward companies seen as more defensive, especially those with recurring investment income or stronger balance-sheet flexibility.
The contrast with CIC Insurance Group, down 1.6% to KES 4.81, shows the sector did not move in one block. That matters because it points to stock-picking rather than a blanket rerating of insurers. Britam and Liberty appeared to benefit from a more defensive profile in a week dominated by earnings releases, while other names failed to attract the same confidence. That dispersion fits a Kenya stock market where investors are increasingly differentiating between balance-sheet quality, earnings visibility and the ability to absorb FX shocks.
Agricultural counters also offered pockets of resilience. Kapchorua Tea rose 1.4% to KES 350.0 and Kakuzi added 1.1% to KES 439.75. Moves in global soft commodities help explain part of that interest: coffee gained 1.4% to 279.2 and cotton rose 3.9% to 82.61. The link is not always immediate for Kenyan equities, but firmer agricultural commodity prices can improve sentiment around export-linked names and agribusiness exposures.
Earnings week: TotalEnergies, Car & General, Safaricom and Nation Media in focus
The biggest fundamental driver this week was the volume of corporate reporting. TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya PLC released audited results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, while Car & General Kenya Plc also published audited financial statements. The detailed profit and revenue lines were not included in the market dataset provided here, which limits a deeper numerical breakdown, but the timing still mattered for sector interpretation. With Brent at $99.32, investors are closely watching energy distributors to assess how international oil prices, FX and domestic demand are feeding into margins.
Car & General is exposed to another macro pressure point: the dollar. Importers of equipment, vehicles and components remain sensitive to a USD/KES rate of 129.52, because a weaker shilling raises landed costs and can squeeze profitability if pricing power is limited. This is where the global-local connection becomes tangible. A softer currency may help some exporters, but it is more immediately painful for industrial and distribution businesses reliant on imported inputs.
Safaricom also published audited results for the year ended March 31, 2026, though the stock was almost unchanged at -0.1% on the reference session. On the Nairobi stock exchange today, that muted reaction suggests much of the news may already have been priced in, or that the market remains focused on the next leg of growth from M-Pesa and the Ethiopia expansion. Safaricom remains central to the exchange not just because of its size, but because its numbers offer a read-through on consumer spending, digital payments and telecom investment across East Africa. For readers searching safaricom share price today, the more important point this week was not the marginal price move, but the strategic weight of the results release itself.
By contrast, Nation Media Group fell 6.7% to KES 14.0 after publishing audited 2025 results. Without the full statement in the dataset, the market move still points to a negative reception, likely tied to pressure on advertising revenue, digital transition costs or operating profitability. It was one of the sharpest declines among mid-cap names this week and underlined how unforgiving the market remains when earnings fail to reassure.
Losers outnumber gainers and underline market fragility
The decliners list was both longer and steeper than the gainers board. Beyond Nation Media, Umeme dropped 4.3% to KES 6.22, Eaagads lost 4.1% to KES 27.8, Longhorn Publishers fell 3.5% to KES 2.8, Flame Tree shed 3.2% to KES 2.1, and TPS Eastern Africa Serena declined 2.8% to KES 17.7. Standard Chartered Bank Kenya was down 2.6% to KES 325.0, while KCB Group slipped 1.9% to KES 93.0 and Kenya Airways lost 1.7% to KES 5.7.
Kenya Airways is especially exposed to the oil-FX mix. Even after Brent’s daily drop, a price near $100 a barrel remains demanding for an airline, particularly with a weaker shilling. Jet fuel and parts of fleet-related costs are dollar-linked, so the stock’s 1.7% decline still fits the macro picture. Likewise, the pullback in Carbacid (-1.7% to KES 43.25) and CIC (-1.6% to KES 4.81) shows investors were not willing to give every cyclical or reporting name the benefit of the doubt.
In listed products, the Absa NewGold ETF fell 1.9% to KES 5,200 even as gold rose 0.3% to $4,311.6. That mismatch can reflect local pricing mechanics, currency effects or simply thinner liquidity in the instrument. It is a reminder that international commodity moves do not always translate one-for-one into NSE-traded products on a single session basis.
Exchange strategy: the NSE pushes diversification beyond equities
Beyond share-price action, this was an important week for market infrastructure. According to official releases, the NSE appointed Sterling Capital Limited as market maker for the NEXT derivatives market, launched a banking sector index, announced steps to widen retail access and confirmed the upcoming Satrix MSCI World Feeder ETF. For an exchange still dominated by a handful of large domestic counters, those are meaningful developments. They can deepen liquidity, improve hedging options and give local investors global exposure without leaving the Kenyan market.
