The NSE 20 Share Index, which measures the performance of 20 blue chip counters at the Kenyan stock market yesterday closed at this year’s highest of 3,903.72 points indicating that stock prices are generally edging up this week.

Read: Kenyan Stock Market Index Rallies on Soaring Blue Chip Shares

Here are the shares we will be closely watching in today’s trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange:

See a summary of yesterday’s share trading here.

• CFC Stanbic Holdings – From late last month the share has rallied, moving from the 40 shilling trading range where it had been for most of the year to trade closer to 50 shillings per share this month with a one year high of KES 49.50 reached two weeks ago.  The share’s rally was likely sparked off by the CMA’s approval of the CFC Stanbic Holdings Rights Issue that will begin today. The shares closed yesterday at KES 48 and we will watch how they fair on the first day of the rights issue. We will also watch out for trading information on the CFC Rights. CFC Stanbic Holdings is the holding company of CFC Stanbic Bank which is the primary recipient of the rights issue.

• Safaricom – The shares rallied further yesterday to close at KES 4.25 which is their highest since January last year. The shares were also the most traded yesterday with 13.95 million shares changing hands indicating that there is demand for the share based on this month’s price rally. We will watch to see if it moves up further today.

• British American Investments – We will maintain watch on how the share performs in light of yesterday’s rebranding of the financial services group to Britam. Read more on this here. It closed yesterday at KES 6.00 similar to Monday which is its highest closing price of this year.

• Kenya Re – The shares yesterday gained 2.6 percent back to KES 11.60 similar to Friday. This is the highest closing price of the share in four years after the share’s rally closer to the 12 shilling mark from a range between 10 and 11 shillings per share for most of this year. Kenya Re provides re-insurance services to insurance companies in Kenya, Middle East and Asia.