KATHMANDU, Sept 5: Stocks witnessed a slightly volatile session on Tuesday as the benchmark Nepse index swung between gains and losses. The index, which fell more than 3 points to 1,202.68, in the first half of the day's trading, erased its losses in the mid-afternoon trading to climb to the intraday high of 1,214.20. The index, however, pulled back slightly toward the end to close 3.98 percent higher at 1,210.24 points.

Stocks rose for the fourth consecutive session, adding almost 4 points on the day after the market witnessed improved activity in the recent days. The bourse was also able to keep up with the previous day's momentum as the total turnover maintained above Rs 500 million-mark.

Despite the broader market posting gain, sectoral indices turned in mixed performances. While gains came mainly from Hotels, Banking and Development Bank stocks, weakness was visible among Hydropower, Manufacturing & Processing, Microfinance and Life Insurance segments. Hotels sub-index posted the biggest gain of 0.87 percent. Banking sub-index also added 0.58 percent on the day. Hydropower sub-index, on the flipside, shed the most and closed 0.7 percent down.

In terms of market activity, Nepal Investment Bank Promoter Shares posted the highest turnover of more than Rs 101 million on Tuesday. Second on the list, shares of NIC Asia Bank Ltd logged total transaction worth over Rs 33 million. Meanwhile, Rs 30 million worth of shares of Nepal Life Insurance Company Ltd changed hands on the day. Besides, other banking stocks including Laxmi Bank Ltd, NMB Bank Ltd, Kumari Bank Ltd and Civil Bank Ltd were also traded actively.

Kabeli Bikas Bank Ltd led the list of advances on the day, as its share price went up 9.26 percent. Its share price has continued to rally since it announced 35 percent stock dividends to its shareholders on Monday. It was followed by Everest Bank Ltd Convertible Preference Share which surged by almost 7.93 percent. Similarly, shares of NIC Asia Bank Ltd continued its surge for the sixth straight day, posting a gain of 4.64 percent on the session. Share price of Laxmi Bank Ltd also jumped 4.33 percent.

Conversely, shares of Arun Kabeli Power Ltd came under pressure as it sank almost 4 percent. Finance stocks including Gurkhas Finance Ltd, Central Finance Company Ltd and Hathway Finance Company Ltd dropped over 2 percent each. Other losing scrips include Swarojgar Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd, Sanima Mai Hydropower Company Ltd and Best Finance Company Ltd.

On news, ICFC Finance Ltd is holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 25. Distribution of 8 percent cash dividend to its shareholders is one of the agendas of the AGM. In other news, Asha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd is awaiting approval of the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) -- the stock market regulator -- to float an IPO of 600,000 units of shares.

ARKS technical analysis indicates the index making an attempt to recover from the sustained downtrend with the formation of bullish candlesticks for four days in a row. Relative Strength Index (RSI) presents sanguine sentiment prevailing of late. Similarly, Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) is on the verge to cross the neutral line, indicating a possible trend reversal for the short term. Further upward movement is likely given the index breaches the immediate resistance of 1,224 points 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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