Shilling weakens after attacks, shares stable

The shilling weakened after weekend attacks along the country's Indian Ocean coastline threatened the already ailing tourism sector, a key source of hard currency. Shares were stable. In early trade, banks posted the shilling at Sh89.60/70, down from Friday's close of Sh89.40/50. "Security concerns are what has made the shilling weaken slightly," said Eric Gathecha, a trader at I&M Bank. The shilling has been under pressure for much of the year largely because of a sharp drop in tourist arrivals, due to a series of Islamist attacks on the coast and elsewhere. In the stock market, the benchmark NSE-20 share index was 0.034 per cent or 1.78 points lower to close at 5,193.11 points. Shares of the country's biggest telecoms operator Safaricom rose five cents to close at Sh12.20 each, a day before the release of its first-half earnings report today. Analysts have forecast the company would register double-digit revenue growth for the six months to the end of September.