NSE share touches new Sh19.60 high

Stockbrokers holding to stakes in the newly listed Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) saw their wealth continue rising as high investor demand doubled the stock’s worth.

The NSE share price touched a new high of Sh19.60 from Sh9.50 debut last Tuesday driven by high demand from both institutional and retail investors. On Wednesday, NSE stood at Sh17.85.

Analysts said the 3.8 million shares offered for sale from the 66 million floated were too few and a scramble by investors is pushing up the value.

“They floated few shares that were oversubscribed so definitely the demand side pressure is what’s driving the stock price up,” said Agnes Achieng’, a research analyst at Sterling Capital.

NSE is the other sub-Saharan Africa bourse after JSE to self-list.

Overall the NSE 20 Share Index dropped 28.80 points to close at 5,161.21 points while turnover reduced to Sh712 million from Sh1.23 billion. Market capitalisation stood at Sh2.24 trillion.

Updated to correct an error in a reference to the number of shares floated.