Monday, May 5, 2014
By Duncan Miriri
At least seven people were killed in the Nairobi and Mombasa blasts, which are likely to do further damage to the nation's embattled tourism industry. No one has claimed responsibility, but officials suspect militants linked or sympathetic to Somali Islamists.
At the 1300 GMT close of trade, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 86.95/87.05, weaker than last week's 86.80/90 close.
"It is a knee-jerk reaction ... " said a senior trader witha leading bank. "For the time being, we might see the shilling remaining under pressure. Until we get something conclusive in terms of the situation being under control, then the shilling will take a weakening tone."
The local currency has held its ground against the greenback,edging down 0.3 percent in the year to date. In the stock market, the benchmark NSE-20 share index dropped 0.6 percent to
close at 4930.63 points.
Shares in telecoms operator Safaricom, which is the most frequently traded stock, shed 0.7 percent to close at 13.00 shillings each. Shares in KCB Bank lost 0.5 percent to close at 49.75 shillings per share.
Aly Khan Satchu, an independent trader and analyst, said the attacks were responsible for "turning the market defensive."
Kenya has suffered a string of gun and grenade attacks since October 2011 when it sent troops across the border into Somalia to pursue al Shabaab militants who had carried out several raids on Kenyan soil.
The government has dismissed criticism by many Kenyans who complain it has not done enough to secure the nation since Islamist gunmen raided a shopping mall in Nairobi last year, killing at least 67 people.
In the bond market, bonds worth 210 million shillings were traded, plunging from Friday's volume of 2.36 billion shillings.