KATHMANDU, Jan 11: The local bourse witnessed a choppy trading session in the last trading day of the week. The benchmark Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index posted move to the upside in the beginning of the day’s trading. The index came under pressure slightly after mid-day but maintained a positive bias throughout the session. At the close, Nepse stood at 1,180.84 points – up marginally from previous day’s close at 1,179.36 points. 

The market witnessed a significant drop in volatility this week with the index stabilizing in the recent sessions. Further, absence of any major event in the financial space has contributed to lackluster trading experienced of late. The bourse posted a total turnover of Rs 366 million on the day. 

Sub-indices turned in mixed performance on the day with the biggest gains coming from Trading stocks. The group’s sub-index climbed over 1 percent. Additionally, Finance and Microfinance sub-indices registered gains of 0.42 percent and 0.41 percent, respectively. Non-Life Insurance and Life Insurance sub-indices also ended in green. Heavyweight Banking sub-index also edged higher on the day. 

Conversely, Development Bank sub-index sank 0.45 percent. Besides, sub-indices of Manufacturing and Processing, Hydropower and Hotels segments inched lower.

In terms of market participation, Nepal Bank Ltd’s shares were traded the most on Thursday. More than Rs 116 million worth of the bank’s stocks were exchanged in the market. Next on the list of actives, shares of Kumari Bank Ltd registered a total turnover of Rs 18 million. 

Likewise, Shares of Nepal Life Insurance Company Ltd and National Hydro Power Company Ltd posted turnovers of over Rs 12 million each. Furthermore, Bank of Kathmandu Ltd, NIC Asia Bank Ltd and Prime Commercial Bank Ltd Promoter shares were also actively traded in the session. 

Sanima Equity Fund led the list of advances with a gain of almost 10 percent in its unit price. Meanwhile, Support Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Jebils Finance Ltd saw their respective share prices rise over 5 percent each. 

Taragaon Regency Hotel Ltd, National Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and ICFC Finance Ltd’s shares followed suit.

Shares of Synergy Power Development Ltd turned in the worst performance on the day as its price dropped over 5 percent. Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd stocks struggled and declined 3.79 percent. 

Similarly, shares of Shine Resunga Development Bank Ltd, Panchakanya Mai Hydropower Company Ltd and Himalayan Power Partner Ltd posted losses of over 2 percent apiece.

On the announcement front, Laxmi Bank Ltd declared 8.5 percent bonus shares for its shareholders. The decision is subject to approval from its upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Nepal Rastra Bank. Similarly, Kumari Bank Ltd proposed 8.50 percent stock dividend to its shareholders. 

As per the ARKS technical analysis, the market formed a small bullish candlestick on the daily timeframe. Despite the index showing slight signs of recovery, the equity market is yet to show a significant shift in momentum. Further, technical indicators suggest neutral sentiment prevailing in the market. Hence, cautious trading is suggested in the current juncture. 

 
• Nepse
 
• Nepal._economy