The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) All Share Index on Thursday plunged beyond the base level set in 2008, pulled down by a decline in key stocks, data from the market showed.
The NSE All Share Index fell to 98.34 points, some 1.66 points below the 100 points base it was set when it was started in 2008.
The index, which measures the market capitalization of all the securities on the NSE, is regarded as a representation of the overall investor sentiments.
The decline of the index has been blamed on the sustained sale of top stocks by foreigners exiting the market leading to a fall in share prices.
The bear run has been ongoing for over a year but it seemingly has reached the peak as foreigners leave the market in search of higher returns in developed countries like the United States after the hiking of benchmark interest rates, some analysts said.
Negative sentiments, especially on the proposed increase of tax on dividend income to 15 percent from the current 5 percent by the Kenyan government, have also affected the market, they added.
Wycliffe Shamiah, chief executive officer of the Capital Markets Authority, in the quarter one report of the market released recently, blamed the decline of the NSE on high global inflation that has seen central banks tighten policy at an unusually rapid pace affecting emerging markets. Enditem
