KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index closed at 2,966.33 points on Sunday after declining 34.47 points, or 1.14%, to end below the 3,000-point threshold. The index had temporarily topped 3,000 points just last Thursday, but this decline represents a reversal. The benchmark index suffered a decline in addition to a decrease in daily turnover, which came down to Rs 28.8 billion from 65,475,366 units of shares exchanged across 330 businesses and 300,918 transactions. Compared to the turnover of Rs 29.9 billion on Thursday, this represented a decline.
The sensitive index fell by 1.24%, reflecting the performance of class 'A' stocks, while the float index fell by 1.09%, representing actively traded shares. The only industry sectors with slight advances in the market were banking, mutual funds, non-life insurance, and life insurance; none of these gains exceeded 1%. The remainder of the market had a generally downward trend. The hotel and tourist sector was the most badly hit, with a loss of 4.49%. The following sectors witnessed declines: manufacturing and processing (2.58%), development bank (2.25%), hydropower (3.74%), others (3.04%), finance (2.79%), and others.
Just 47 firms had increases in their share prices among individual stocks, whilst 197 companies witnessed decreases in their share values. In spite of the general negative attitude in the market, four firms saw a 10% increase in their share values: Sampada Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (SMPDA), Multipurpose Finance Company Limited (MPFL), Life Insurance Company (Nepal) Limited (LICN), and Rastriya Beema Company Limited (RBCL). On the other hand, the only business that had a 10% decline in its share value was Nepal Finance Ltd. (NFC).
