KATHMANDU, Sept 13: The stock market opened lower this morning, remained under pressure till the close of the session. At the end, the bench mark Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index posted a loss of 5.33 points to close the day at 1157.88 points.
Following the day’s loss, the index fell for a six straight session. Considerable weakness is visible in the equity market as the index has continued to make new lows.
Turnover remained lower as only Rs 376 million worth of share changed hands.
Nepse starts the week on a lower note
All major sectors turned red following the broader market. Hotels sub-index fell the most and closed 1.29% lower. Hydropower, ‘Others’ and Mutual Fund sub-indices followed the index with losses of 0.97%, 0.87% and 0.79% respectively. All other sub-indices closed in the red with a minimal losses.
Laxmi Bank Ltd Promoter Shares and NIC Asia Bank Ltd were traded the most with a turnover of over Rs 47 million and Rs 35 million respectively. Commercial bank scrips followed suit as Kumari Bank Ltd and Nepal Bank Ltd registered turnovers of Rs 26 million and Rs 20 million correspondingly. Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd Promoter Share, Agriculture Development Bank Ltd and Mega Bank Nepal Ltd were also actively traded on Thursday.
Kalika Power Company Ltd turned in the best performance of the day. Its share price shot up by 5%. Similarly, NIC Asia Growth Fund and Ngadi Group Power Ltd also saw considerable strength as both scrips added over 3% each.
Other gaining scrips include Global IME Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, Ridi Hydropower Development Company Ltd, and Goodwill Finance Co Ltd also saw the gains of over 2% each.
Arun Valley Hydropower Development Co Ltd and Himalaya Urja Bikas Company Ltd’s shares tanked 6.79% and 6.5% respectively.
Likewise, Nepal Insurance Co Ltd also struggled and shed 5.01%. Hydropower stocks like Arun Kabeli Power Ltd, Ghalemdi Hydro Ltd and Panchthar Power Company Ltd saw losses of over 4% each while United Modi Hydropower Ltd share price dropped 3.84% on the day.
As per the ARKS technical analysis the market formed the bearish candlestick on the daily time period for sixth consecutive day, indicating the bear still persisting in the bourse. Technical Indicators like Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) and Relative Strength Index (RSI) also recommend weak momentum in the market with the index lacking significant conviction at the current moment.
Hence, cautious trading is suggested unless a notable movement towards either direction is observed.
