OREANDA-NEWS. February 20, 2015. Shares in Kenya' biggest telecoms operator Safaricom hit an all-time high on Thursday, pushing the blue chip index to its highest level since 2008.

The shilling closed marginally weaker.

Safaricom, the biggest stock on the bourse by market capitalisation, rose 1.3 percent to close at 15.15 shillings, its all-time closing high. During intra-day trading, the shares rose to 15.30 shillings before they were pared back.

Aly Khan Satchu, an independent trader, said investors are optimistic about the growth prospects from Safaricom's mobile money transfer service and mobile data usage, which has grown significantly in Kenya on the back of higher smartphone use.

"There is increasing awareness of this digital revolution where Safaricom will play a key role," Satchu said.

He added that Safaricom has also benefited from a bullish outlook for Kenya's economy, where falling oil prices and low food inflation has left consumers flush with cash.

East African Breweries, a regional brewer which is also the bourse's second largest stock, rose 2.6 percent to close at 350 shillings.

The benchmark NSE-20 share index rose for the ninth consecutive session, up 27.77 points or 0.5 percent, to close at 5,473.81 points. This was its highest level since August 2008.

The All Share Index also hit another all time high, rising 0.8 percent to 175.65 points.

The market rallied even as stockbrokers threatened to stop trade from Friday over a new capital gains tax.

On the foreign exchange market, the shilling closed trade at 91.40/91.50 to the dollar, weaker on Wednesday's close of 91.30/91.40.

Kenya's central bank on Thursday said the shilling had stabilised after weakening in recent months and was now likely to strengthen against the greenback.

On the secondary market, government bonds worth 1.3 billion shillings (\\$14.22 million) were traded, down from 1.9 billion shillings on Tuesday.