The NSE Hits a Historic KSh4 Trillion Milestone Despite Foreign Investors Pulling Out. Here Are the 5 Drivers Behind the Record Run.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange crossed KSh4 trillion in market capitalisation for the first time on Monday August 3, lifting the value of listed companies to about KSh4.01 trillion. The market had gained roughly KSh1.07 trillion, or 36.3%, since the end of 2025.
The milestone came despite sustained selling by foreign investors. Offshore funds are active in many of the market’s largest and most liquid shares, so heavy selling can weigh on blue chip prices and weaken the wider market. This time, however, domestic investors absorbed much of the pressure, allowing share prices to continue rising.

That resilience had been building for months. During the first quarter, the Capital Markets Authority recorded net foreign outflows of KSh8.783 billion, including KSh4.276 billion in March, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East unsettled global markets. Despite the selling, the NSE 20 gained 9.31%, the NSE 25 rose 6.28%, the NASI advanced 4.42% and the NSE 10 added 3.32%.

The market continued to move in the same direction during the second quarter. Foreign investors bought about KSh18.4 billion worth of shares and sold KSh19.6 billion, resulting in a net outflow of KSh1.203 billion. Their average share of market activity also fell to 25.58%, from 32.27% in the first quarter. Yet the rally accelerated: the NSE 10 gained 18.68%, the NASI rose 15.05%, the NSE 25 advanced 14.62% and the NSE 20 climbed 9.44%. This lifted total market capitalisation by 16.44% to KSh3.762 trillion.

By the time the NSE crossed the KSh4 trillion mark on August 3, it had become clear that the rally was being sustained by domestic capital. Pension funds, fund managers and a growing active base of retail investors continued buying even as foreign investors remained net sellers, helping offset the pressure on share prices. Higher dividends, falling government security yields and the Kenya Pipeline and Family Bank listings reinforced that demand, while Safaricom and banking stocks accounted for much of the increase in market value.

The rally extended across much of the market, although the largest companies created most of the new wealth. Safaricom and six major lenders, Equity, KCB, Co-operative Bank, Absa, I&M and Stanbic added a combined KSh664.5 billion, accounting for about 62% of the NSE’s KSh1.07 trillion increase. Smaller and mid-sized companies, meanwhile, delivered some of the year’s strongest percentage gains from far lower valuations.

Among the best performers this year, Car & General led the market with a 206.86% gain, lifting its market value to KSh12.55 billion. It was followed by Britam, up 91.21% to KSh43.91 billion; Family Bank, up 74.72% to KSh52.29 billion; Africa Mega Agricorp, up 67.02% to KSh1.51 billion; Kapchorua Tea, up 62.10% to KSh5.87 billion; I&M, up 59.60% to KSh117.89 billion; and Kenya Airways, up 57.51% to KSh31.59 billion.