KATHMANDU: Equities started the day lower and remained weak during the first half of the Wednesday's trading session. However, the benchmark Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index recovered its early losses and climbed firmly higher in the afternoon. At the close, Nepse index was up 8.04 points to close at 1,188.10 points.
Despite ending the day in green, the stock market saw minimal turnover of Rs 250 million. This shows there is still a lack of significant momentum in the market to boost the index upward. Consequently, investors remained less inclined to put their money in secondary market.
All major sub-indices ended the day in green, with maximum gains coming from Hydropower and Hotels sectors. Their sub-indices rose by 1.37 percent and 1.16 percent, respectively. Similarly, Insurance sub-index climbed 1.03 percent followed by Microfinance Sub-Index which posted a gain of 0.83 percent. Banking group also saw its sub-indices surge by 0.49 percent.
Nepse stretches winning run with record weekly turnover
Shares of Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd and National Life Insurance Company Ltd were the forerunner in terms of turnover, recording total transaction of over Rs 11 million each. Shares of Nagbeli Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd was also actively traded as Wednesday was the last trading day before its book closure for 100 percent rights issue. Over Rs 10 million worth of its shares were traded on the day. Other active stocks on the day were Nabil Bank Ltd Promoter Share and Sanima Mai Hydropower Company Ltd which logged turnover of over Rs 10 million each.
In terms of advances, Kisan Microfinance Bittiya Santha Ltd was the biggest gainer of the day as its share price rallied 6.02 percent. Further, shares of Saptakoshi Development Bank Ltd surged 5.26 percent. Other top gainers for the day were Arun Valley Hydropower Development Company Ltd, Tinau Development Bank Ltd and Oriental Hotels Ltd.
On the other hand, shares of Rairang Hydropower Development Company Ltd extended its losses further on Wednesday's trading. Its price plummeted by nearly 10 percent. Next on the list of losing stocks, Nepal Community Development Bank Ltd and Kanchan Development Bank Ltd shed more than 3 percent each. Nagbeli Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd, NMB Sulav Investment Fund-1 and Pokhara Finance Ltd were the other top losers on Wednesday.
On the news front, Manjushree Finance Company Ltd held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday. Issuance of 5.71 percent bonus shares was one of the main agendas of the meeting. After the issue, the paid-up capital of the financial institution will reach Rs 800 million.
ARKS technical analysis model indicates the market making slight correction with the formation of a bullish candlestick in the daily timeframe. With the days gain, Relative Strength Index (RSI) bounced back slightly but is yet to recover from oversold zone. Meanwhile, Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) still lies firmly in the negative territory. Further, the lower volume also indicates the absence of notable upthrust in the equity market to overcome the recent downtrend.
