KATHMANDU, Sept 30: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) lost 25.48 points last week after Nepal Rastra Bank turned apathetic to revise 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 Thursday to mark Indra Jatra, one of the festivals of Hindus. The market opened at 2,029.78 points on Sunday while it closed at 2,004.30 points on Wednesday.

During the period, the index went as high as 2,036.76 points and as low as 1,993.54 points, taking the market to the volatility of 43.22 points. In four days of trading, the market index dropped for three days.

The market started the week with a double-digit fall of 19.42 points on Sunday. On Monday, the index declined marginally by 5.89 points, which was followed by a gain of 18.45 points on Tuesday. On Wednesday, after the board meeting of the central bank failed to reach a conclusion on revising the existing limits on loans against shares, the market again went to a downswing with a drop of 18.60 points.

Along with a gain in the market index, the total turnover amount escalated to Rs 7.800 billion from Rs 7.369 billion in the previous week. This shows that the transaction volume inclined 5.85 percent. 

The average daily turnover amount also increased to Rs 1.950 billion from Rs 1.842 billion during the review period.

Three out of 13 trading groups including microfinance, hydropower and mutual funds had their market values increased. Non-life insurance lost the biggest of 253.52 points, followed by life insurance, hotels and tourism, and development banks that lost three-digit points.

Among the individual companies, Sun Nepal Life Insurance Limited posted the highest turnover of its shares worth Rs 325.84 million. Shuvam Power Limited was the topmost loser. Asian Hydropower Limited, with an addition of its market price by 30.56 percent, was the biggest gainer. 

The market capitalization declined to Rs 3.038 trillion from Rs 3.059 trillion during the review period. As a result, the investors lost Rs 21 billion from their investment portfolio. In the previous week, the investors benefited with Rs 55 billion from the country’s secondary market.

 
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