Nepse index closes in on 1,300-mark

Kathmandu, February 27

The stock market bull raged on in the week of February 21 to 25, with the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index recording a weekly gain of 10.24 points or 0.8 per cent.

Starting the trading week at 1,273.28 points, benchmark index rose 5.64 points to breach the previous record set on the last trading day of the previous week. Investor optimism propelled Nepse up 12.89 points to record yet another fresh high of 1291.81 points on Monday.

However, the local bourse went on a correction mode over the next two days — dipping 5.88 points on Tuesday and another 6.03 points on Wednesday. But the stock market bull again pushed up Nepse index 3.62 points to close the week at 1,283.52 points.

Altogether 8.01 million shares that amounted to Rs 2.83 billion were traded through 11,696 transactions during the review period. In comparison, 12,548 transactions of 8.47 million shares worth Rs 2.54 billion had been undertaken in the previous week.

Sensitive index, which gauges performance of class ‘A’ stocks, rose 0.97 per cent to 277.51 points. Similarly, float index that measures performance of shares actually traded also went up 0.64 per cent to 92.26 points. Among subgroups, trading held steady at 201.38 points, while hotels, hydropower and insurance subgroups landed in the red.

Finance subgroup led the market rally by surging 4.5 per cent to 638.81 points. Stock value of Citizen Investment Trust went up by Rs 385 to Rs 4,785 and Mahalaxmi Finance by Rs 10 to Rs 310, among others.

Unilever Nepal’s share price gained Rs 562 to Rs 28,690, which helped the manufacturing subgroup to climb 1.47 per cent to 2,008.64 points.

The sub-index of commercial banks — the subgroup that had taken the lead among the gainers in the previous week and which has the highest stake in the market capitalisation of the country’s only secondary market — ascended 1.17 per cent to 1,182.26 points. Standard Chartered gained Rs 131 to Rs 2,800 and Nepal Investment Bank rose by Rs 38 to Rs 970.

Development banks recovered the dip of 0.32 per cent of previous week by inching up 0.8 per cent to 1,267.64 points. Nerude Laghubitta Bikas Bank’s share price was up Rs 71 to Rs 2,346, Naya Nepal went up by five rupees to Rs 1,530, while Reliable was up by Rs 22 to Rs 372.

Others subgroup also inched up 0.71 per cent to 828.24 points on the back of Nepal Telecom’s share price rising by five rupees to Rs 705.

Meanwhile, hotels subgroup saw the previous week’s minimal gain of 0.62 per cent wiped out as the sub-index slumped 2.84 per cent to 1,710.84 points. Oriental’s stock price plunged by Rs 25 to Rs 415, Taragaon Regency’s dropped by

Rs 10 to Rs 212 and Soaltee’s was down eight rupees to Rs 322.

Insurance subgroup lost 0.85 per cent to 5,514.67 points, weighed down by National Life losing Rs 21 to Rs 2,659 and Prime Life down Rs 27 to Rs 1,620.

Compared to the previous week’s drop of 2.4 per cent, the loss of hydropower was muted this time around as the sub-index dipped 0.78 per cent to 2,246.25 points, mostly because of Chilime’s share value down Rs 13 to Rs 1,370.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,790,097 units of bonus shares were listed on Nepse in review period. Altogether, 1,215,097 units of bonus shares of Business Universal Development Bank and 575,000 units of bonus shares of Mission Development Bank have been listed for trading. Similarly, 2,134,845 units of rights shares of ICFC Finance have also been listed for trading.