Kathmandu, December 16
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index declined by almost 2% on the first trading day of the week.
On Monday, the NEPSE index fell by 51.57 points (1.91%) to close at 2630.91, compared to Thursday’s closing of 2682. This follows a 1.23% (33.42 points) drop in the index on the last trading day of the previous week.
Former president of the Stock Brokers Association, Santosh Mainali, attributed the decline to rumors of government instability and fears of increased supply in the market due to potential approvals for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), Further Public Offerings (FPOs), and rights shares under the new leadership at the Securities Board of Nepal.
“Investors are worried that these approvals will increase supply, while political rumors are naturally affecting the market,” he said, adding that corrections in overvalued shares of weak companies have also impacted the market.
In addition to the decline in the NEPSE index, the total transaction volume also decreased slightly on Monday. Trading volume fell from NPR 6.09 billion on Thursday to NPR 5.93 billion.
All sub-indices recorded losses, with the finance sector sub-index falling the most by 4.41%, followed by the trading sub-index, which dropped by 3.55%.
Out of 227 companies, share prices fell for most, while only 15 companies saw gains. Despite the broader market downturn, shares of Kutheli Bukhari Small Hydropower Project hit a positive circuit, reaching NPR 33, amid concerns of share cornering. Regulators have yet to address this issue.
Similarly, shares of Joshi Hydropower Company rose by 9.40%.
On the downside, Janaki Finance Company saw the sharpest drop, with its share price falling by 9.58%, followed by Nepal Finance, which dropped by 7.45%.
