KATHMANDU, June 28: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index opened trading on Thursday on a positive note and traded in green for the first trading hour. However, the benchmark index fluctuated around the opening line in the latter trading hours to close the day lower. Nepse posted a meager loss of 1.40 points to close at 1,257.15 points on the last trading day of the week.

Since last week, the index is trending in consolidation zone of 1,250-1,270 points, maintaining stability in the market. Market participation has also shown a gradual improvement lately with the local bourse witnessing a total turnover of Rs 627 million on the day.

Most of the traded sectors closed the day lower. Non-Life Insurance sub-index registered a loss of 1.97 percent followed by Manufacturing & Processing which was down by 0.39 percent. Life Insurance, Development Bank, Hydropower, Mutual fund and Microfinance sub-indices also closed marginally lower. On the other hand, Hotels sub-index witnessed some strength and climbed up by 0.87 percent. Finance, Others and Banking sub-indices also ended the week in green.

Himalayan Distillery Ltd was the most actively traded scrip for the second straight day with turnover of over Rs 149 million on Thursday. Similarly, Nepal Bank Ltd and Prabhu Bank Ltd posted turnovers of over Rs 56 million and Rs 31 million, respectively. Shivam Cements Ltd and Siddhartha Bank each saw Rs 25 million worth of shares traded. Units of Gurkhas Finance Ltd Promoter Share, Civil Bank Ltd, Nabil Bank Ltd and NIC Asia Bank Ltd were also actively on the day.

Among advances, shares of Multipurpose Finance Company Ltd turned in the best performance of the day as its share price appreciated by almost 10 percent. Second on the list was Nepal Agro Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd which added 7.97 percent on its share price. Further, share prices of Asian Life Insurance Company Ltd and Ridi Hydropower Development Company Ltd logged gains of over 3 percent. Sindhu Bikas Bank Ltd, Asha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Swabalamban Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd were among other top gainers adding over 2 percent on their respective share prices.

In contrast, share prices of IME General Insurance Ltd, Panchthar Power Company Ltd, Sparsha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, Kalika Power Company Ltd and Ankhu Khola Jalvidhyut Company Ltd dropped over 4 percent each. Further, Rastriya Beema Company Ltd, Arun Kabeli Power Ltd, Nepal Insurance Company Ltd, Himalayan General Insurance Company Ltd and Nepal Hydro Developers Ltd fell by over 3 percent each.

As per ARKS technical analysis, the index formed a small bearish candlestick during trading on Thursday. The equity market is still trending in the consolidation zone with no notable movement toward either side visible. In the meantime, technical indicators suggest that the selling pressure is slowly easing off in the current context. Hence, a significant volume-backed rebound from the current range can present buying opportunities for investors for the short term.

 
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