KATHMANDU, March 11: Local equities opened the day's session on a flat note as the index remained unchanged in the initial trading. The index shed more than 9 points by mid-day.

Nonetheless, the advance was truncated by a technical glitch in the system as traders were kept from trading after an hour and forty minutes of trading.

The short trading session on Sunday saw the Nepse index close flat at 1,128.71 points – up by marginal 0.94 points against Thursday's close.

Nepse took a breather on Sunday after three days of surge. Both buyers and sellers remained active contributing to the marginal movement of the broader index. The bourse has shown some signs of recovery in the trading sessions of late. Nonetheless, the market has been witnessing a series of low volume trading sessions. Hence, an improvement in the trading activity will further substantiate the market's recovery.

Traded sectors turned in mixed performance on the day. On the positive side, Life Insurance sub-index posted gain of 0.59 percent. It was followed by Hotels, Banking and Development Bank sub-indices which also posted modest gains in the session. In contrast, Manufacturing & Processing and 'Others' sub-indices sank 0.27 percent and 0.24 percent, respectively.

Finance, Microfinance, Non-Life Insurance and Hydropower sub-indices also closed marginally lower.

Shares of Nepal Life Insurance Company Ltd has continued to witness active transactions in the secondary market since its dividend announcement last week. More than Rs 12 million worth of the scrips changed hands.

Similarly, Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Ltd witnessed a turnover of Rs 10 million. Next, Everest Bank Ltd registered a total turnover of over Rs 6 million. Other commercial banks followed suit as shares of NMB Bank Ltd, Prabhu Bank Ltd and NIC Asia Bank Ltd also remained active in the day.

Among advances, shares of Sanima Hydropower Company Ltd turned in the biggest percentage gain of the day. Its share price jumped over 4 percent higher. Further, Prudential Insurance Company Ltd and Gurans Life Insurance Company Ltd registered gains of over 3 percent each.

Other top gainers for the day include shares of Arun Kabeli Power Ltd, Himalayan Power Partner Ltd and First Microfinance Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd.

Tinau Development Bank Ltd, on the other hand, suffered the most. Its share price tanked 5.49 percent. Shares of National Hydropower Company Ltd and Rairang Hydropower Development Company Ltd also came under pressure with losses of 4.47 percent and 3.12 percent, respectively. Correspondingly, Deprosc Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, Panchakanya Mai Hydropower Ltd and Nepal Seva Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha witnessed declines of over 2 percent apiece.

Meanwhile, Sparsha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd has opened its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 269,630 unit shares from Sunday. The issuance is open till March 13.

As per the ARKS technical analysis, the market formed a small bullish candlestick reflecting the minimal movement of the equity index. Following four straight days of gain, momentum indicators suggest slightly bullish sentiment prevailing in the current scenario. A further surge might see the index hit 1,160 points, whereas the index is likely to revert to 1,100 points if the market fails to hold ground above the current 1,120 points mark.

This column is produced by ARKS Capital Advisors Ltd

(Views expressed in the article are those of the producer and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication)

www.arkscapitaladvisors.com

 
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