Kathmandu, March 9
The stock market witnessed a significant downturn on Sunday, the first trading day of the week, with the NEPSE index dropping by 46.33 points to settle at 2,772 points.
This marks the fifth consecutive day of decline. From the opening bell, the market remained in the red throughout the session. Despite the index falling, the total transaction volume remained steady, with trades worth Rs 10.09 billion compared to Rs 10.10 billion in the previous session.
Out of the listed companies, 24 saw price gains, while 217 recorded losses, and two remained unchanged. All market sectors ended the day lower, with the “Others” sector experiencing the biggest drop of 2.69 percent.
The correction in share prices of reinsurance companies Himalayan Re and Nepal Re had a significant impact on the sector’s performance. Banking fell by 1.36 percent, development bank by 1.71 percent, finance by 1.87 percent, hydropower by 1.66 percent, investment by 2.49 percent, life insurance by 1.74 percent, manufacturing by 0.91 percent, microfinance by 1.58 percent, non-life insurance by 1.26 percent, others by 2.69 percent, and trading by 0.81 percent.
Guardian Micro Life Insurance and Bhugol Energy saw the highest gains, each rising by 10 percent, though other gainers recorded less than a 4 percent increase. Meanwhile, Upakar Laghubitta and Sindhu Development Bank suffered the biggest losses, each dropping by 10 percent. Other major decliners included Rapti Hydropower, down 9.87 percent, Samaj Laghubitta, down 7.28 percent, and Sagarmatha Jalvidyut, down 5.28 percent.
Himalayan Reinsurance recorded the highest transaction volume at Rs 1.12 billion, despite its share price declining by 2.52 points. Other top traded stocks included Nepal Reinsurance, NRN Infrastructure, Guardian Micro Life Insurance, and CEDB Holdings.
