KATHMANDU: The benchmark Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index continued to see strength in the day's trading and maintained a positive bias throughout the day's session. The benchmark index climbed as high as 1,334 points late in the afternoon but pulled back toward the close to end the day with a gain of 5.55 points at 1,321 points.

Following the day's advance, Nepse has climbed for four straight sessions. Investors' enthusiasm is reflected in the bourse as the index has held its ground above the 1,320-point level. Further, the rise was also accompanied by active market participation. Total turnover crossed Rs 1 billion for a second straight day. More than Rs 1.33 billion worth of shares changed hands on the day.

Traded sectors ended the day mixed. Gains came mainly from Trading stocks. The group's sub-index jumped by over 4 percent. Development Bank and Others sub-indices followed suit with advances of over 1 percent each. Banking sub-index also closed in green followed by Finance and Microfinance sub-indices. On the other hand, Manufacturing & Processing sub-index retraced 2.28 percent. Hotels stocks also struggled with the group's sub-index going down by 1.6 percent. Besides, Non-life Insurance, Hydropower, Mutual Fund and Life Insurance sub-indices also edged lower.

Nepal Credit and Commercial Bank Ltd led the list of active stocks with total turnover of over Rs 148 million. Similarly, shares of Nepal Bank Ltd and Shivam Cements Ltd registered turnover of Rs 132 million and Rs 130 million, respectively. Shares of Agriculture Development Bank Ltd, Nepal Telecom Ltd and Prime Commercial Bank Ltd were also traded actively on the day.

Share prices of Nepal Community Development Bank Ltd and Bishal Bazar Company Ltd, among advances, rallied by over 7 percent each. Shares of Green Development Bank Ltd, Reliance Finance Ltd and Agriculture Development Bank Ltd followed suit, posting gains of 6.73 percent, 6.61 percent and 5.29 percent, respectively. In contrast, shares of Himalayan Distillery Ltd came under the hammer as its share price tanked over 6 percent. Similarly, shares of Global IME Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd also closed the day 5.52 percent lower. Other losing securities include Shivam Cements Ltd, Nepal Seva Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Naya Nepal Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd which saw their respective unit prices go down by over 4 percent each.

On announcement front, Nepse has published a notice regarding acquisition of Bhargav Bikas Bank Ltd by Shine Resunga Development Bank Ltd following the signing of Merger and Acquisition (M&A) agreement by the respective entities. Consequently, trading of Bhargav Bikas Bank has been halted. In other news, Taragaon Regency Hotels Ltd has called for its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June 7. Distribution of 12.63 percent cash dividend is one of the agendas to be discussed in the AGM.

ARKS technical analysis indicates a shooting star candlestick formation on the daily timeframe, reflecting sellers' dominance toward the session's close. Nonetheless, the index has maintained its ground above 1,300-point mark, indicating strength prevailing in the current juncture. Further, volume has remained supportive of the recent upward movement suggesting further rise in Nepse is likely.

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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