Market dominance by the 10 biggest firms at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) rose in the last quarter of 2025 as investors ditched smaller counters to tap gains, especially in the financial sector.
The concentration of top firms, measured by market capitalisation, rose to an average of Sh2.46 trillion in the three months to December, up from Sh2.25 trillion in September.
The quarterly statistical bulletin by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) released on Monday shows that eight banking stocks led by Equity Bank, KCB, NCBA, Coop Bank, Absa Kenya, Stanbic, Stanchart, and I&M dominated the list.
Even so, Safaricom retained its leadership role at the Nairobi bourse both in terms of trading and market value. East African Breweries Limited (EABL) is another non-banking stock in the top 10 list.
The market capitalization of the richest firms at NSE was highest in October at 84.19 per cent, dropped slightly to 83.73 per cent in November, before rising again in December to 84.01 per cent.
In terms of market turnover, the top firms commanded an average of 86.9 per cent during the review period, with the highest concentration recorded in December at 89.09 per cent.
The counters accounted for an average monthly turnover of Sh12.5 billion out of Sh14.4 billion between October and December.
According to market analysts at Serrai Group, the dominance by the banking sector is consistent with long-standing patterns at the NSE, where banks are among the most liquid, best-researched, and most actively traded counters.
“The sector’s resilience is underpinned by several structural factors: relatively stable earnings, strong capital buffers, improving asset quality, and the sector’s sensitivity to interest-rate expectations.”
They added that, with the Central Bank Rate (CBR) holding steady, banks continue to benefit from predictable funding conditions and steady margins.
Bank stocks have been on a sustained Bull Run since September, largely due to impressive Q3 financial results that saw the market leader, KCB Group, post a three per cent in net earnings to Sh47 billion, attributable to a 12 per cent increase in net interest income to Sh104 billion.
Equity Group posted the highest net profit during the quarter at Sh54.1 billion, a 32 per cent jump compared to Sh40.9 billion in a similar period in 2024.
Co-op Bank, on the other hand, announced a maiden Interim Dividend as Q3 Profit hit Sh21.6 billion, a 12.6 per cent increase compared to a similar quarter the previous year.
The good performance saw investors in the banking sector reap high dividends and share prices. For instance, Co-op Bank, which began the year with a share price of Sh23.95, has since gained 16.7per cent on that price valuation, ranking it third on the NSE in terms of year-to-date performance.
It is followed by Absa Bank Kenya, which began the year with a share price of Sh24.70 and has since gained 9.92 per cent on that price valuation, ranking it 10th on the NSE in terms of year-to-date performance.
Equity, on the other hand, began the year with a share price of Sh66.75 and has since gained 2.62 per cent while KCB has gained 1.52 per cent on that price valuation, ranking it 35th on the NSE in terms of year-to-date performance.
Generally, NSE recorded improved performance during the period, with all indices blinking green.
For instance, the NSE 20 share index increased by 5.6 per cent to 3,139.19 points in Q4.2025 from 2,972.64 points in Q3.2025, whilethe NSE All Share Index (NASI) rose by 5.57 per cent to 186.58 points in Q4.2025 from 176.74 points.
The market capitalization increased by 5.75 per cent to Sh2.94 trillion in Q4.2025 from Sh2.78 trillion in Q3.2025.
Notably, the market capitalization reached Sh3.044 trillion on November 6, 2025, surpassing the three trillion mark during the quarter under review.
However, the equity turnover decreased by 6.51 per cent to Sh43.22 billion from Sh46.23 billion in Q3.
The volume of shares traded decreased by 17.63 per cent to 1,498 billion shares from 1.8 billion shares in Q3.
In the bond market, the bond turnover dropped by 7.18 per cent, with Sh635.02 billion traded in Q4.2025, compared to Sh684.12 billion in Q3.2025.
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