Daily turnover at NEPSE records 35-month high of Rs 12.05 billion; index jumps 54.04 points today

Published On: July 17, 2024 06:07 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, July 17: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) on Wednesday witnessed a daily turnover of Rs 12.05 billion, which was the highest amount in the past 35 months.

The secondary market has gained over 300 points in the past two weeks after Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML joined an alliance to replace the former government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal. According to the stockbrokers, the investors’ confidence has boosted up with the appointment of Bishnu Prasad Paudel as the new finance minister.

After facing a bearish trend for almost two years, the share market has started to take a leap. During the period, the secondary market was adversely affected by high interest rates and economic slowdown.

On August 18, 2021, NEPSE set a new record, reaching 3,198.6 points. However, it declined to as low as 1,826.24 points on November 5, 2023. Likewise, the daily turnover hit a record high of Rs 21.6 billion on August 15, 2021, which plunged to below Rs 1 billion in the last fiscal year.

In Wednesday’s trading, NEPSE gained 54.04 points. The market opened at 2,310.59 points and added around 38 points in the first half an hour. After investors rushed to book their profits, the market corrected with a downfall of around 36 points in the next two hours. In the remaining trading hours, the index again bounced back and recovered around 42 points.

The sensitive index that measures the performance of ‘A’ class companies added an impressive 10.25 points. The daily turnover surged to Rs 12.05 billion from Rs 9.13 billion on Tuesday.

All 13 groups gained. Non-life insurance added the highest of 382.41 points. Other six groups including hotels and tourism, life insurance, trading, manufacturing and processing, development bank and finance were also registered as gainers of three-digit points.

Among individual companies, 204 were recorded as gainers whereas 32 were the losers.

Singati Hydro Energy Limited had the largest turnover of its shares worth Rs 235.58 million. Central Finance Co Ltd was the topmost gainer, while Citizens Mutual Fund 2 lost the highest of 9.90 percent of its market value.