Nelly
Member
Equities
During the week, the equities market recorded mixed performance, with NSE 20 declining by 0.9%, while NASI and NSE 25 gained by 0.3% and 0.9%, respectively, taking their YTD performance to gains of 6.6%, 6.1% and 2.7% for NASI, NSE 25 and NSE 20 respectively. The equities market performance was driven by gains recorded by large-cap stocks such as Equity Group, Diamond Trust Bank (DTB-K) and KCB Group of 5.1%, 4.9%, and 4.6%, respectively. The gains were however weighed down by losses recorded by stocks such as NCBA, Bamburi, and ABSA Bank, which declined by 4.1%, 3.0% and 1.9%, respectively.
Real Estate
During the week, the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) released the Housing Price Index, March 2021 Report, highlighting that house prices rose by 0.2% in Q4’2020, an improvement from the 0.1% contraction recorded in Q3’2020. In the residential sector, Sycamore Pine Limited, a real estate developer announced plans to construct 1,959 residential apartments under a project dubbed Samara Estate to be located in Migaa Gold Estate in Kiambu County.
Focus of the Week
Financial planning for education is the practice and habit of managing one’s finances with the intention of saving towards the funding of their children’s’ education in the future. This week, we follow up on our previous focus on Eduation Investment Plans in Kenya by bringing on the financial planning aspect of it, the available options and the considerations to make when choosing the best investment avenue for education.
Liquidity:
During the week, liquidity in the money market tightened, with the average interbank rate increasing marginally by 0.1% points to 5.0%, from the 4.9% recorded the previous week, attributable to the government payments which were partly offset by tax remittances. The average interbank volumes increased by 12.6% to Kshs 13.0 bn, from Kshs 11.6 bn recorded the previous week. According to the Central Bank of Kenya’s bulletin released on 12th March 2021, commercial banks’ excess reserves came in at Kshs 11.7 bn in relation to the 4.25% Cash Reserve Ratio.
Kenya Shilling:
During the week, the Kenyan shilling appreciated marginally by 0.03% against the US dollar to Kshs 109.6, from Kshs 109.7 recorded the previous week. This was mainly attributable to market participants anticipating a positive economic recovery following the arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine in the country. On a yeat to date (YTD) basis, the shilling has depreciated by 0.4% against the dollar, in comparison to the 7.7% depreciation recorded in 2020. We expect continued pressure on the Kenyan shilling due to:
1. A slowdown in foreign dollar currency inflows due to reduced dollar inflows from sectors such as tourism and horticulture, and
2. Continued uncertainty globally making people prefer holding dollars and other hard currencies.
During the week, the equities market recorded mixed performance, with NSE 20 declining by 0.9%, while NASI and NSE 25 gained by 0.3% and 0.9%, respectively, taking their YTD performance to gains of 6.6%, 6.1% and 2.7% for NASI, NSE 25 and NSE 20 respectively. The equities market performance was driven by gains recorded by large-cap stocks such as Equity Group, Diamond Trust Bank (DTB-K) and KCB Group of 5.1%, 4.9%, and 4.6%, respectively. The gains were however weighed down by losses recorded by stocks such as NCBA, Bamburi, and ABSA Bank, which declined by 4.1%, 3.0% and 1.9%, respectively.
Real Estate
During the week, the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) released the Housing Price Index, March 2021 Report, highlighting that house prices rose by 0.2% in Q4’2020, an improvement from the 0.1% contraction recorded in Q3’2020. In the residential sector, Sycamore Pine Limited, a real estate developer announced plans to construct 1,959 residential apartments under a project dubbed Samara Estate to be located in Migaa Gold Estate in Kiambu County.
Focus of the Week
Financial planning for education is the practice and habit of managing one’s finances with the intention of saving towards the funding of their children’s’ education in the future. This week, we follow up on our previous focus on Eduation Investment Plans in Kenya by bringing on the financial planning aspect of it, the available options and the considerations to make when choosing the best investment avenue for education.
Liquidity:
During the week, liquidity in the money market tightened, with the average interbank rate increasing marginally by 0.1% points to 5.0%, from the 4.9% recorded the previous week, attributable to the government payments which were partly offset by tax remittances. The average interbank volumes increased by 12.6% to Kshs 13.0 bn, from Kshs 11.6 bn recorded the previous week. According to the Central Bank of Kenya’s bulletin released on 12th March 2021, commercial banks’ excess reserves came in at Kshs 11.7 bn in relation to the 4.25% Cash Reserve Ratio.
Kenya Shilling:
During the week, the Kenyan shilling appreciated marginally by 0.03% against the US dollar to Kshs 109.6, from Kshs 109.7 recorded the previous week. This was mainly attributable to market participants anticipating a positive economic recovery following the arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine in the country. On a yeat to date (YTD) basis, the shilling has depreciated by 0.4% against the dollar, in comparison to the 7.7% depreciation recorded in 2020. We expect continued pressure on the Kenyan shilling due to:
1. A slowdown in foreign dollar currency inflows due to reduced dollar inflows from sectors such as tourism and horticulture, and
2. Continued uncertainty globally making people prefer holding dollars and other hard currencies.