KATHMANDU: Nepali investors are losing their investment in capital market due to continuous fall of share price since September. Nepal Stock Exchange Ltd (Nepse) index has dropped to 142.95 points in the last three months — from September 2, (660.40 points) to December 3, (517.45) points.

The Nepali capital market has lost over Rs 2.5 billion in the period. However, analyst Rabindra Bhattarai believes the trend is a corrective mode. “Market is taking real shape and there is nothing to worry about,” he said, “If there are sudden ups and downs, it can cause harm to investors.”

However, he did not rule out the involvement of key players in manipulating the market. “The market is not responding to the changes and this proves that there is more to it than what meets the eye,” he said. According to Bhattarai, it is the best time to buy shares in the secondary market. If an investor can hold the shares at least for a year, he/she can get handsome benefit, he added.

Moreover, he rejected the rumours of an impending crash in the Nepali capital market. “The market will be in bullish mode soon,” he said. Like Bhattarai, other stock analysts are hoping for a bullish mode in the coming next few weeks.

The exact time is still uncertain, he explained. Nepse trading floor opened three days this week — from November 27 to December 3 — and traded shares of 82 companies equal to Rs 147.77 million in 2,969 transactions. The transaction was the lowest since September. Last week, shares worth Rs 276.84 million were traded on the Nepse floor in 4,910 transactions.

Commercial banks were the largest losers of the week, with their index plunging by 13.38 points from 495.92 points to 479.54. Development banks and hydropower followed in the commercial banks’ footsteps — losing 9.88 points and 5.64 points respectively. The indices of the manufacturing and hotel sectors did not change this week.

Bank of Kathmandu topped in transaction amount (Rs 24.74 million) and unit shares (21,000) while Prime Commercial Bank topped in transaction number (470).

Top traded companies

Bank of Kathmandu Rs 24.74 million

Prime Commercial Bank Rs 11.79 million

Standard Chartered Bank Rs 7.85 million

Vibor Development Bank Rs 6.72 million

Everest Bank Rs 6.67 million