NSE 25 jumps 9.13% after March selloff and fresh market initiatives

The NSE 25 rose 9.1303% to 5,663.83 on April 8, while the NSE 20 gained 3.1641% to 3,557.85, marking a sharp rebound after March's selloff. The Kenyan Wallstreet reported on March 24 that the market lost KSh96 billion in its 7th-biggest daily drop since 2008, while Business Daily said on March 25 that blue-chip stocks had shed KSh200 billion amid the Iran war. In stocks, NCBA posted FY2025 profit of KSh23.4 billion and lifted its dividend by 30%, according to Bizna Kenya and MarketScreener, while Kigali Today reported on April 2 that Nedbank visited Rwanda to advance a takeover of NCBA Bank. Primary market activity stayed firm, with Kenya Pipeline debuting at KSh9.30, up 3.3% on March 10 according to Reuters and Citizen Digital, and ALP Industrial REIT listing as the NSE's first dollar-denominated security after a 115% oversubscribed offer, according to Dabafinance and African Markets. On April 8, the NSE also launched a banking sector index, appointed Sterling Capital as a market maker in NEXT derivatives and admitted Fintrust Securities to the fixed-income market, according to exchange statements.