The NSE All-Share Index closed at 244.72, down 1.14%, with the 20-Share and 25-Share indices also lower. Breadth was split, 25 counters up against 22 down out of 56 traded. Construction and Allied led sector gains at +2.19% on just two counters, while Automobiles and Accessories and Banking lagged, the latter down 0.69% with six of twelve bank counters declining. Turnover was thin at KES 329.7mn, 66.1% below the 20-session average, on 10,375 trades. Foreign investors were net sellers at KES -132.4mn, 20.8% of turnover, with heavy selling in Safaricom (SCOM) and KCB (KCB), the two most actively traded counters alongside IM Holdings (IMH) and Equity (EQTY). BOC Kenya (BOC), Longhorn (LKL) and Crown Paints (CRWN) were the session's top gainers; Nation Media Group (NMG), BK Group (BKG) and Eaagads (EGAD) led decliners.

Britam Asset Managers (BRIT) launched two new funds giving Kenyan investors access to global equities and diversified international assets, widening options beyond the domestic market. KUSCCO's liquidator has directed borrowers to keep repaying loans while creditors file proof-of-debt claims, a process that bears on the broader savings and credit cooperative sector's asset quality. The Kenya Association of Manufacturers has gone to court over a 433% rise in excise duty on imported industrial sugar, a cost pressure for listed manufacturers that use sugar as an input.