KATHMANDU, Sept 14: Stocks witnessed significant strength since the beginning of trading on Thursday. The benchmark Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index gained more than 15 points in the first half of the day's trading. Despite losing 8 points in the afternoon, the index closed 14.13 points higher at 1,244.84 points on the last day of the week's trading.

As banking and financial institution stocks have started gaining momentum of late, investors seemed upbeat in the course of the day's trading. The sanguine sentiment was also reflected in the market activity as total turnover in the bourse increased by more than 68 percent to Rs 729 million against the day earlier.

In terms of sectoral performance, Non-life Insurance, Life Insurance and Microfinance stocks struggled on Thursday and posted modest drops. However, the losses were mitigated by significant gains coming from other sectors. 'Others' sub-index gained the highest 3.03 percent, while Hotels sub-index added 1.72 percent. Strength was visible among banking stocks as the group's sub-index went up by 1.5 percent. Other sub-indices also closed the day higher.

NMB Bank Ltd led the list of active stocks as almost Rs 60 million worth of its shares were traded on the day. NIC Asia Bank was next on the list with total turnover of over Rs 55 million. Shares worth Rs 36 million and Rs 30 million, respectively, of Prabhu Bank Ltd and Janata Bank Nepal Ltd changed hands on the day. Other actively traded stocks include Prime Commercial Bank Ltd, Mega Bank Ltd and Kumari Bank Ltd.

Nepal Seva Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd led the list of advances on the day, as its share price rallied 9.77 percent. Correspondingly, Tinau Bikas Bank Ltd, Mega Bank Ltd and Century Commercial Bank Ltd also saw their share prices surge by over 6 percent each. Other commercial bank scrips including Nepal Credit and Commercial Bank Ltd and Prabhu Bank Ltd also added around 5 percent each on their share prices. Civil Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd were the other top gaining stocks on the day.

Bhargav Bikas Bank Ltd, on the other hand, was the worst performer of the day as its share price tanked 4.54 percent. Likewise, share prices of Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Himalayan Power Partner Ltd dropped by over 3 percent each. Further, share prices of United Modi Hydropower Ltd, Synergy Power Development Ltd and Himalayan Distillery Ltd fell over 2 percent each.

Among companies announcing dividends on Thursday, Unilever Nepal Ltd declared 700 percent cash dividend to its shareholders from its earnings of Fiscal Year 17/18. The FMCG producer had distributed 1270 percent cash dividend in the previous year. Meanwhile, Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd has announced to provide 18.25 percent bonus shares to its shareholders. Saptakoshi Development Bank Ltd has also proposed 8.36 percent dividend -- 3 percent bonus shares and 5.36 percent cash payout.

As per the ARKS technical analysis, the index crossed 1,240 points after forming bullish candlesticks for three consecutive days. With Relative Strength Index (RSI) sloped upward and Moving Average Convergence/ Divergence (MACD) trending above the neutral line, technical indicators also suggest bullish sentiment taking over in the current juncture. The short-term resistance stands at 1,270 points while the support rests at 1,210-point mark.

This column is produced by ARKS Capital Advisors Ltd www.arkscapitaladvisors.com
(Views expressed are those of the producer and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication)

 
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