KATHMANDU, Sept 23: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) gained 22.72 points last week after Nepal Rastra Bank showed green signal on removing the cap of Rs 40-120 million on bank loans against shares.  

The secondary market opened four days for trading with the government announcing a public holiday on Wednesday to mark the Constitution Day. The market opened at 2,007.06 points on Sunday while it closed at 2,029.78 points on Thursday.

During the period, the index went as high as 2,040.03 points and as low as 1,953.15 points, taking the market to the volatility of 86.88 points. Although the market reeled with a poor performance on the first half of the weekdays, the market rebounded to cross 2,000 points on the last day of trading.

The market started the week with a notable fall of 42.14 points on Sunday. On Monday, the index inclined marginally by 4.26 points, which was followed by a gain of 16.24 points on Tuesday. On Thursday, the market hit a double digit gain of 44.34 points, which according to stockbrokers, was due to the central bank showing flexibility to remove the existing limit on margin loans.  

Along with a gain in the market index, the total turnover amount escalated to Rs 7.369 billion from Rs 5.221 billion in the previous week. This shows that the transaction volume inclined 41.15 percent. 

The average daily turnover amount also increased to Rs 1.842 billion from Rs 1.305 billion during the review period.

Out of 13 trading groups, nine succeeded in adding values in their market prices.  Hydropower, manufacturing and processing, and development banks gained three-digit points. Life insurance, trading, hotels and tourism, and banking registered as the losers.

Among individual companies, Reliable Nepal Life Insurance Limited posted the highest turnover of its shares worth Rs 585.27 million. Three Star Hydropower Limited was the topmost gainer, while Everest Bank Limited was the biggest loser, with its market price falling by 6.02 percent. 

The market capitalization inclined to Rs 3.059 trillion from Rs 3.004 trillion during the review period. As a result, the investors gained Rs 55 billion from their investment portfolio. Last week, the investors benefited with Rs 112 billion from the country’s secondary market.

 
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