KATHMANDU, July 12: The stock market saw yet another choppy session on Thursday as the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index closed essentially unchanged. At the end of the day, Nepse posted a meager loss of 0.62 points to close the last trading day of the week at 1,248.53 points.
The index extended Wednesday's losses further dropping below the 1,250-point mark. The index is still trending sideways as it lacks any significant conviction. Investors are taking 'wait and see' approach toward the market as the monetary policy announcement is due within a short period of time. Meanwhile, the bourse witnessed the modest market activity with total turnover of Rs 460 million.
Majority of traded sectors ended the day in red. Hotels, Manufacturing & Processing and Mutual Fund sub-indices were down by 1%, 0.73% and 0.68%, respectively. Life Insurance, Microfinance, 'Others', Development Bank, Finance and Non-Life Insurance sub-indices also posted meager losses.
Nepse ends week on a flat note
On the other hand, Banking and Hydropower sub-indices ended the day in positive territory with logging marginal gains.
Nepal Bank Ltd posted the highest turnover of the day as more than Rs 52 million worth of the shares of the commercial bank were traded in the market on Thursday. Next on the list was Shivam Cements Ltd with turnover of Rs 32 million, while Civil Bank Ltd and NIC Asia Bank Ltd registered turnovers of over Rs 17 million each. Stocks of Nepal Credit & Commercial Bank Ltd, Nepal Life Insurance Company Ltd, Infinity Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Mega Bank Nepal Ltd were other active stocks of the day.
Nadep Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd saw the best performance of the day as its share price rallied by 4.73%. While share price of Shree Investment Finance Co Ltd jumped by 3.25%, those of Ghalemdi Hydro Ltd, IME General Insurance Ltd and Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd were up by over 2% each.
In contrast, Multi-Purpose Finance Company Ltd posted the worst performance of the day with a 5.67% drop in its price. Similarly, Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Infinity Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd's share prices fell by 5.10% and 4.34%, respectively. Other losing stocks include Joshi Hydropower Development Company Ltd, Global IME Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Gurans Life Insurance Company Ltd, which tanked over 3% each.
Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has approved 'NIC Asia Balanced Fund' worth Rs 1.25 billion. A total of 125 million units of shares having face value of Rs 10 will be floated under the scheme.
As per ARKS technical analysis, the market formed a small bearish candlestick on the daily timeframe. Consequently, the index has reverted to the crucial 1,250-point mark and indecisiveness still prevails in the market. Momentum indicators also suggest neutral sentiment in the present context as the market is yet to indicate a significant market direction.
