KATHMANDU, Sept 20: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a dramatic plunge of 160.33 points in a single day of trading last week, leaving investors reeling with heavy losses.
The secondary market, which had remained closed for six consecutive trading days following the Gen Z protests, reopened on Thursday. But trading barely lasted an hour before regulators were forced to suspend operations due to the steepest single-day fall in recent memory.
Within just two minutes of the market opening, NEPSE triggered its first “negative circuit” after tumbling 107.04 points to 2,565.21. The trading halt lasted 20 minutes, but the freefall continued as soon as trading resumed at 11:22 AM, prompting a second circuit within a minute. After another 40-minute suspension, the market reopened at 12:03 PM, only to face a third circuit within three minutes, forcing a complete shutdown for the rest of the day.
Nepse index plunged 34.68 points and shares investors lost Rs 4...
By closing, the NEPSE index had dropped six percent in intraday trading. Out of the total listed companies, only nine recorded gains while 217 slumped into losses.
The sensitive index, which tracks the performance of ‘A’-class companies, fell by 26.08 points. Among sectoral indices, life insurance shed the most with a loss of 840.31 points, while the heavyweight banking group tumbled by 77.58 points.
On the company front, Him Star Urja Company Limited emerged as the top gainer, surging 9.99 percent. In contrast, eight companies — including Unnati Sahakarya Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited, Nepal Reinsurance Company, Nepal Micro Insurance Company, Trade Tower Limited, Sindhu Bikash Bank, Soaltee Hotel Limited, IGI Prudential Insurance, and Synergy Power Development Limited — hit the maximum daily loss limit of 10 percent.
Himalayan Distillery Limited led in turnover, with shares worth Rs 40.87 million traded. The day’s total turnover stood at Rs 728.70 million.
Alongside the index, market capitalization fell sharply to Rs 4.199 trillion from Rs 4.467 trillion, erasing Rs 268 billion in investor wealth. The latest decline comes on top of Rs 79 billion wiped out in the previous week.
