KATHMANDU: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index traded briefly in red in the morning session on Tuesday. However, a steady advance saw the index add over 5 points late in the afternoon. Though stocks pulled back slightly in the closing minutes, the benchmark index managed to post a gain of 3.75 points to close the day at 1,115.74 points.

After sliding notably in the week earlier, the equity index has found some foothold at around 1,100 points range. Hence, some consolidation has been observed at the current juncture with the index confined within a narrow range. However, indecision remains prevalent as investors are yet to participate actively in the secondary market. Despite the benchmark index ending in green, turnover remained sub-par at Rs 267 million.

Most of the traded sectors saw strength and closed in green. Trading sector suffered a heavy loss with Salt Trading Corporation witnessing another day of correction. The group's sub-index slid 3.98%. 'Others', Finance and Development Bank sectors edged marginally lower. Life Insurance sub-index, however, went up by 1.27% on the back of gains coming from all listed life insurance stocks. Manufacturing & Processing and Microfinance sub-indices each ended around 1% higher. Market heavyweight Banking sub-index inched 0.22% higher. All other sectors closed the day in green.

Among actives, Siddhartha Bank Ltd Promoter Shares saw the highest turnover on Tuesday with more than Rs 26 million worth of units traded. Next, NMB Bank Ltd registered turnover of over Rs 19 million, while Nepal Life Insurance Company Ltd, NIC Asia Bank Ltd and Janautthan Samudayik Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd posted turnovers of Rs 14 million, Rs 13 million and Rs 11 million, respectively.

The share price of Ghodighoda Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha shot up by 10% on the day. Dibyashwori Hydropower Ltd closely followed with an 8% rise, while share price of Himalayan Distillery Ltd was up by 5.7%. Mithila Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, Janautthan Samudayik Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd and Synergy Power Development Ltd were among other top advances of the day, posting gains of over 5% each.

On the other hand, Salt Trading Corporation came under significant pressure as reflected by a 5.41% drop in its share price. Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Best Finance Company Ltd, subsequently, saw their respective share prices fall by 2.46% and 2.29%. Other major decliners of the day were Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd, Progressive Finance Ltd, City Express Finance Co Ltd and Green Development Bank Ltd which saw their share prices tumble by over 2% each.

On announcement front, Mahila Sahayatra Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd has declared 20% dividend for its shareholders form the profit it earned in FY2018/19. While 10% will be paid as bonus shares, the remaining 10% will be given out as cash dividend, according to the company.

In terms of ARKS technical analysis, the market formed a bullish candlestick on the daily timeframe, erasing its previous day losses. With the day's gain, technical indicators also suggest bearish sentiment subsiding slightly. However, a momentous move is yet to follow which might drive the market higher in the coming sessions. Meanwhile, support is provided by 1,100-point range.

 
• Nepse
 
• stock_market
 
• Nepal_Stock_Exchange