KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) jumped 23.05 points on Sunday as the political parties appeared to finalise the delineation of the proposed federal states and settle other contentious issues taking the constitution closer towards completion.
The turnover almost doubled to Rs645.14 million with the rise in the index. Brokers said that demand for shares had swelled in the early hours and investors were seen booking profits midway through the trading hours. A large number of investors were trying to offload their shares in the later hours.
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Anjan Raj Paudel, managing director of Thrive Brokerage House, said that the Nepse had soared due to the latest political development. “The expectation that the political situation will go in a positive way in the future has attracted investors in the stock market,” said Paudel, adding that the domestic capital market was highly influenced by political developments. The index leaped to 1,057.44 points from 1,040.39 within 10 minutes of opening. However, it fell to 1,050.73 after an hour before closing at 1063.41. According to Paudel, there was a huge buying pressure in the early hours, particularly for stocks of commercial banks, insurance and hydropower companies. “The market seemed stable as the turnover was supported by the notable volume of transactions,” he said.
Lately, positive shifts in the political sector and Nepal Rastra Bank’s instruction to banks and financial institutions to hike their paid-up capital four-fold in the next two years has prompted investors to snap up shares. Investors have become more interested in stocks of banking institutions due to the expectation of getting bonus shares when they jack up their capital.
The insurance sub-index saw the biggest growth on Sunday. The group’s index rose 57.67 points to close at 4,536.88 points. It was followed by banking (35.47 points) and manufacturing (33.66 points).
Among individual companies, Standard Chartered Bank rose 172 points to become the top gainer. It was followed by Nepal Investment Bank (80 points) and Nepal SBI Bank (61 points). Everest Bank topped the list in terms of transaction with a turnover of Rs60.93 million. Market capitalisation reached Rs1,094.58 billion on Sunday.
