KATHMANDU, Feb 1: The secondary market witness yet another choppy trading session on last trading day of the week. The benchmark Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) opened the day on a positive note, gaining 3.22 points by midday.
Despite some pressure toward the close, the benchmark index managed to gain a marginal 1.04 points to close the week at 1161.63 points.
Following the broader market, the bourse witnessed a relatively active turnover on Thursday. More than Rs 273 million worth of shares changed hands on Thursday.
The sub-indices of Development Bank and ‘Others’ sectors logged gains of 0.36 percent and 0.17 percent, respectively. Similarly, sub-indices of Hotels, Manufacturing & Processing and Microfinance segments closed slightly higher.
Stocks unchanged in choppy trading
On the other hand, Trading and Life Insurance sectors came under pressure as reflected by a 0.23 percent and 0.18 percent drop, respectively, in their sub-indices.
Furthermore, Hydropower, Finance and Non-Life Insurance sub-indices also ended the day in red.
Citizen Investment Trust was the most active scrip of the day with a total transaction of over Rs 39 million.
It was followed by Citizen Bank International Ltd and Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Ltd which logged turnovers of more than Rs 17 million and Rs 14 million, respectively. Other active stocks were Nepal Bank Ltd, Nepal Life Insurance Co Ltd, Machhapuchhre Bank Ltd and Prime Commercial Bank Ltd.
Chautari Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd led the list of gainers as its share price closed 8.4 percent higher. Likewise, shares of Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd and Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd followed suit posting gains of 7.24 percent and 6.93 percent, respectively.
Among the microfinance sector, the share prices of Unnati Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, Support Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Arambha Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd appreciated by 4 percent each. In contrast, City Express Finance Co Ltd struggled as its share prices fell by almost 10 percent.
The unit price of Sanima Equity Fund also fell by 4.25 percent. Share price of Mirmire Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd also slid by 4 percent. Naya Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, Oriental Hotels Ltd and First Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd were other losing scrips of the day.
On earnings front, Himalayan Bank Ltd has reported a 23.62 percent net profit growth in the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2018/19. Its net profit stands at Rs 1.36 billion compared to Rs 1.10 billion in the corresponding quarter of the preceding year.
Sindhu Bikas Bank Ltd has posted a substantial profit growth of 140.47 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year.
Among microfinance companies, Summit Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd has published its earnings report for the second quarter. The microfinance company has reported a net profit of Rs 26 million– a 51.32 percent growth compared to financials of the corresponding quarter of FY2017/18. Likewise, Unnati Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd has reported 82.07 percent growth in its net profit.
As per the ARKS technical analysis, technical indicators like Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) indicate that the bear run is still dominant in the present context. However, the index has maintained and held ground above the psychological support of 1,160 points.
