Kathmandu, February 27
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index surged past the 2,800 mark on Thursday, the final trading day of the week. The index gained 49.15 points compared to the previous session, closing at 2,815.
Trading volume also saw a significant rise, with total transactions reaching Rs 11.39 billion, up from Rs 9.90 billion the previous day. A total of 186 companies saw their share prices increase, while 52 declined, and 6 remained unchanged.
The banking sector recorded the highest gain of 3.32 percent, driven by Nepal Rastra Bank’s latest monetary policy review, which reduced the loan loss provision for good-class loans from 1.10 percent to 1 percent. This adjustment is expected to boost banks’ future profits, fueling investor interest in the sector.
Other sectors also posted gains, with the manufacturing and processing sector rising by 2.91 percent, trading by 1.20 percent, others by 1.01 percent, non-life insurance by 0.70 percent, microfinance by 0.91 percent, life insurance by 0.81 percent, investment by 1.25 percent, hydropower by 1.80 percent, hotels and tourism by 1.12 percent, finance by 0.28 percent, and development banks by 1.53 percent.
Four companies hit the 10 percent upper circuit: Guardian Micro Life Insurance, Upper Hewakhola Hydropower, Sindhu Development Bank, and Dordi Khola Hydropower. Other major gainers included Liberty Energy, which rose by 9.96 percent, Gurans Microfinance by 9.24 percent, and Bottlers Nepal (Balaju) by 8.99 percent. On the downside, Bhugol Energy declined by 7.17 percent, while Upakar Microfinance lost 6.25 percent.
Himalayan Reinsurance led the market in turnover, with transactions worth Rs 964.7 million. Other heavily traded stocks included Nepal Reinsurance, NRN Infrastructure, Singati Hydropower, and Kumari Bank. The market’s strong performance was largely driven by improved investor sentiment, particularly in the banking sector, following the monetary policy revision.
