KATHMANDU, MAY 23

The uncertainty on the political front failed to dampen the spirits of share investors as the benchmark index of country's sole secondary market rested at a fresh all-time high today.

Opening at 2,787.19 points, the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index had witnessed some panic buying in the initial trading hour, but then remained mostly northbound to gain 1.18 per cent or 32.81 points to close at 2,820 points.

'Owing to the surprise dissolution of the Parliament by the president on Saturday, share investors initially sought to offload their stocks, but soon after as the buying pressure started building, their morale also got a boost,' explained a market analyst, adding the prohibitory orders in place had limited investment avenues across the country, which has also added to the appeal of investing in the share market.

Sensitive index that measures performance of class 'A' stocks jumped 1.65 per cent or 8.23 points to 507.20 points, while float index that gauges performance of shares actually traded also rose 1.45 per cent or 2.77 points to 194.24 points.

A total of 25.16 million shares of 220 firms changed hands through 126,124 transactions in the market today that amounted to Rs 11.69 billion.

The daily turnover was the second highest till date, with the all-time high recorded on May 19 at Rs 11.96 billion.

The share price of 146 listed companies rose today, while those of 65 fell, and that of nine was stable.

Microfinance, hotels and tourism, and non-life insurance were the three subgroups to land in the red today.

Development banks sub-index led the pack of gainers by surging 7.54 per cent or 239.89 points to 3,422.20 points.

Shareholders of Karnali Development Bank saw their holdings jump by the maximum allowed limit of 10 per cent to Rs 286 per unit, while Ru Ru Jalbidhyut Pariyojana Ltd's share price fell by the most today, down 3.73 per cent to Rs 1,083.

Nepal Reinsurance Co Ltd had the highest turnover today of Rs 418.64 million, Jyoti Bikas Bank topped in terms of trading volume with 752,596 of its shares changing hands, and Nepal Infrastructure Bank had the most number of transactions - 3,303.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 2,4 2021, of The Himalayan Times.