Kenyan shilling firms against dollar, stocks fall

NAIROBI: The Kenyan shilling was a touch weaker against the dollar on Wednesday, supported by expectations from some investors that the central bank would intervene in the market. Shares fell.

At 1330 GMT, commercial banks posted the shilling at 102.35/45, a touch firmer on Tuesday's close of 102.40/50.

"Another quiet day. The shilling came off a bit against the dollar as people got wary of the central bank intervening," said a trader with a commercial bank.

The central bank has in the past defended the 102.50 level, selling dollars when the local currency weakened past that point.

On the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the main NSE-20 Share Index was down 38.61 points, or 1 percent, to close at 3,835.10 points.