Kathmandu, December 5

Though stock investors mostly continue to hold on to wait-and-see mode, positive political cues helped the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index gain 28.93 points or 2.77 per cent week-on-week to land at 1,072.94 points, from November 29 to December 3.

Starting the week at 1,044.01 points on Sunday, the benchmark index had slumped by 21.24 points by the time of closing for the day. However, investor optimism got a boost on the news of dialogue between the government and agitating Madhes-based parties and Nepse recovered some of the losses of the previous day by rising 11.35 points on Monday. The local bourse continued northbound on Tuesday, surging by a massive 32.26 points. Nepse dipped by a minimal 3.6 points on Wednesday, but the loss was offset the very next day as the benchmark index gained 10.16 points.

Altogether 2.86 million shares of 147 companies worth Rs 1.46 billion were traded through 10,863 transactions during the week. The traded amount was 17.71 per cent higher than the preceding week when 12,615 transactions of 2.4 million scrips of 150 firms that amounted to Rs 1.24 billion had been undertaken.

The sensitive index, which gauges performance of class ‘A’ stocks, rose by 6.37 points to 231.74 points. Likewise, the float index that measures performance of shares actually traded also inched up by 2.17 points to 76.32 points, during the review period.

Trading continued to remain constant at 207.97 points for the ninth consecutive week. Two subgroups landed in the red, but the losses were muted — hotels dipped by 0.44 per cent to 1,757.56 points and manufacturing was down 0.13 per cent to 1,862.43 points.

Conversely, development banks led the pack of gainers, with the sub-index swelling by 3.69 per cent to 927.67 points. Nirdhan Utthan’s share price surged by Rs 330 to Rs 2,010, Chhimek’s by Rs 84 to Rs 1,695, among others.

Banking, which has a majority stake in the market capitalisation of the country’s only secondary market, ascended by 3.49 per cent to 990.57 points. Nabil’s stock price went up by Rs 200 to Rs 2,300, that of Himalayan Bank by

Rs 88 to Rs 1,338 and Nepal Investment’s by Rs 21 to Rs 675.

Insurance firms managed to salvage some of the loss of the previous week by climbing 3.45 per cent to 4,475.14 points. Nepal Life Insurance’s share value rose by Rs 150 to Rs 3,030 and of National Life Insurance by Rs 80 to Rs 2,103.

Similarly, hydropower subgroup went up by 1.58 per cent to 1,911.58 points, with Chilime landing at Rs 1,325 (up Rs 18), Sanima Mai at Rs 742 (up Rs 17) and Arun Valley at Rs 280 (up Rs 20).

Nepal Telecom nudged up two rupees to Rs 647, which helped the others subgroup inch up 0.31 per cent to 760.11 points. Finance too edged up by 0.36 per cent to 548.68 points.

Himalayan Bank topped the chart with highest turnover of Rs 151.94 million, followed by Everest Bank with Rs 123.05 million, Nabil Bank (Promoter Share) with Rs 73.79 million, National Life Insurance Co with Rs 64.06 and Nabil Bank with Rs 63.44 million.

Nabil Balanced Fund-I was the forerunner in terms of number of shares traded with 290,000 of its scrips changing hands. Api Power Co retained its position among firms in terms of most number of transactions, clocking 2,481 trade dealings.