KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 4
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a significant downturn on Sunday, with its daily turnover plummeting to just over Rs 3 billion. The index experienced a 5.31-point drop, marking a 0.25% decline to settle at 2,061.70 points by the close of the week's inaugural trading day.
Market conditions were turbulent throughout the day, fluctuating from a low of 2,054.15 at 11:23 am to a peak of 2,072.9 points at 12:12 pm. This volatility translated into a sharp dive in daily turnover to Rs 3.216 billion, with 9,272,782 units of shares from 307 companies exchanged in 70,790 transactions. This was a further drop from Thursday's intraday turnover, which also stood at a mere Rs 4.180 billion.
In sync with the broader index, the sensitive index, which tracks class 'A' stocks, slipped by 0.16%, while the float index, indicating actively traded shares, saw a 0.25% dip.
Among the sub-indices, only four made gains, led by the development Bank index with a 0.66% increase, followed by Non-Life Insurance at 0.51%, Finance at 0.40%, and Investment at 0.09%.
Of the listed companies, 104 saw gains in their share values, while 132 experienced declines, and 11 remained unchanged. Notably, Unique Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (UNLB) registered a sole 10% increase in its share values.
Despite the overall market turbulence, Himalayan Reinsurance Limited (HRL) emerged as the top performer in terms of turnover (Rs 335,832,809.20) and transactions (8,702). However, it was dethroned as a top company in term of volume as well as the Nepal Infrastructure Bank Limited (NIFRA) claimed the top position in volume, with 525,058 shares traded compared to HRL's 486,325 units.
The total market capitalization stood at Rs 3.240 trillion.
