The value of NSE-listed firms rose to Sh2.27 trillion from Sh2.26 trillion as most of the heavily battered stocks registered gains in the single digits.
Increased demand for Safaricom #ticker:SCOM and top bank stocks Tuesday saw the Nairobi bourse gain Sh10 billion in market capitalisation, recovering some of the heavy losses recorded on Monday.
The value of all the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firms rose to Sh2.27 trillion from Sh2.26 trillion as most of the heavily battered stocks registered gains in the single digits.
The market had dropped by Sh125 billion on Monday, the largest decline in a single day in the history of the exchange in what has been linked to foreign investor flight.
The spread of the Coronavirus and an emerging oil price war have been the biggest issues weighing down global stock markets in recent days.
The blue-chip firms Tuesday, however, saw some gains as buyers moved to scoop up the bargains.
Safaricom climbed 1.4 percent to close at Sh27.75 but posted the largest absolute gain of Sh16 billion, lifting the overall market which it dominates by most measures including capitalisation.
KCB #ticker:KCB rose 2.3 percent to Sh47.8, adding Sh3.5 billion to its shareholders’ paper wealth.
Equity Group’s #ticker:EQTY shares inched up 0.9 percent to Sh47.1 in what saw the lender’s market value rise by Sh3.3 billion.
The NSE and other exchanges around the world have been on a see-saw as uncertainties mount and governments try to prop up the markets through various measures including lowering interest rates.
The sell-off is seen as expressing investors’ fears that the global economy will take a major hit from coronavirus and the price of oil dropping by more than a quarter to lows of $30 per barrel.
The price plunge was brought by the failure of the Saudi-led Opec+ cartel to agree on production cuts. Coronavirus has killed more than 3,800 people and infected more than 110,000 since the outbreak in December in China’s port city of Wuhan.
The disease, which has an estimated mortality rate of two percent, has paralysed activities in parts of China where most consumer goods are manufactured.
Other countries to which the disease has spread such as Japan and Italy have also responded by curtailing travel and public meetings, with scores of businesses shutting down plants and stores. The scare is disrupting supply chains and weakening demand for goods and services worldwide, raising the spectre of a substantial reduction in global economic growth.
Kenya and the rest of Africa has so far been spared the damage of coronavirus.
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