The market logged gain this week after losing 25.97 points last week. Before that, the benchmark index had posted gains for five straight weeks gaining a total of 75.24 points.
According to stock brokers, investors have now shifted toward shares of insurance and hydropower companies. In the previous weeks, investors were after shares of bank and financial institutions (BFIs) in anticipation of right and bonus shares.
"The benchmark index shed some points last week amid rush among investors to cash in on gains in share value. The market, however, recovered this week as most of the investors are still trying to get hold of shares expecting that BFIs, which dominate the market, will offer bonus shares instead of cash dividend to meet the new paid-up capital requirement," Baddri Prasad Phuyal, proprietor of Kumari Securities Pvt Ltd -- a brokerage firm -- told Republica.
"The market, however, also received some jolts amid reports of political failing to forge consensus on the content of new constitution. Once the constitution is promulgated, we will see bullish trend in the secondary market."
Insurance was the biggest gainer of the week as its sub-index jumped by 215.87 points to close at 4,479.21 points. The sub-indices of Hydropower and Development Bank also went up by 16.31 points and 5.45 points, respectively, to close at 2,141.93 points and 853.98 points. Finance group also inched up 0.73 point to close at 543.48 points. Hotels, and Manufacturing and Processing groups, however, ended on the red zone this week with their sub-indices falling by 22.54 points and 8.36 points, respectively, to finish at 1,864.2 points and 1,677.47 points. 'Others' and Banking sub-indices shed 1.17 points and 1.94 points to close the week's trading at 722.53 points and s948.91 points, respectively. 'Trading' group remained unchanged at 212.92 points this week.
A total of 4.84 million units of shares of 172 companies worth Rs 2.48 billion were traded in the market this week through 17,482 transactions. Total weekly turnover is 18.25 percent lower than the turnover recorded last week.
Nepal Investment Bank Ltd remained at the top of the listed companies in terms of turnover (Rs 338.34 million) and number of shares traded (571,000 units of shares), while Prime Commercial Bank Ltd topped the list of companies in terms of number of transactions (823).
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