KCB's Called Off Acquisition, Centum's Results and Tesla Concerns Rocking US Markets

Last week, Centum released fair results. However, investors are still wary of Kenya's real estate sector especially after COVID-19 ravaged footfall in malls. KCB called off the acquisition of Tanzania's BancABC, citing regulatory headwinds and Tesla's valuation and volatility in US markets is getting investors concerned. Locally, the NASI fell by 2.88% closing the week at 160.03 bp. The NSE 25 fell by 3.66% closing the week at 3533.74 bp whereas the NSE 20 fell 2.49% to end the week at 1839.46 bp showing a decline in the mood of the market. Equity turnover fell by 40.2% closing the week at Ksh 3.5 billion worth of shares traded down from 5.96 billion in the previous week. Volumes in the bonds fell by 50.14%  with about 9.4 billion worth of bonds traded compared to 18.96 the previous week. The primary auction in the bonds market by CBK could have sparked the decline in both the equity and the bonds market. Safaricom, Equity Group, and KCB, stocks which account for most of the market activity on the NSE for the week, declined by 2.5%, 6.16% and 9.5% closing at Ksh 37.50, Ksh 41.15 and Ksh 46.60 respectively. In global markets, the S&P 500 continued to take a drop of more than 1% for the fifth consecutive week. The index fell 1.2% closing the week at 4538.43 bp. The Dow fell by 0.9% closing the week at 34580 bp while the Nasdaq was down 2.6% to end the week at 15085.47 bp. 

Tune in to learn how the fears of Tesla's volatility and the Fed's direction towards tapering is affecting US markets, how CBK's recent auction is sparking a decline in local bond and equity markets and some of the things to look out for in Centum's results and future. 

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This episode features:
Felix Ochieng - Chief Financial Analyst, Hisa
Produced by Mwakaneno Gakweli.