Nepse up 12.59 points; hydropower cos lead

NEPAL Stock Exchange (Nepse) last week posted a double- digit growth of 12.59 points to close at 546.89 points on Thursday. The market had opened at 534.30 points on Sunday. Anjan Raj Poudel, proprietor of Thrive Brokerage House, said improved liquidity situation in banks and positive financial statements of listed companies helped boost the capital market. “The monetary policy, which talks about improving liquidity situation in the banking system, has also helped the market grow,” he said. Of the nine sub-groups, six posted gains during the review period. The group representing hydropower companies was the biggest gainer — up 61.79 points. Poudel attributed the growth in the hydropower sub-index to general understanding that the sector would be the best alternative for investment. ‘Others’, Insurance Companies, Commercial Banks, Finance Companies and Development Banks were other gainers. With a downfall of 6.01 points, the Hotel sector was the only loser. Manufacturing and trading groups were stable at 875.68 points and 172.23 points, respectively. The sensitive index that measures the transaction of ‘A’ category companies increased 3.31 points to close at 137.17 points. Everest Bank posted the highest transaction of Rs 87.49 million. Chilime Hydropower Company, Himalayan Distillery, Nepal Credit _ Commerce Bank and NIC Asia Bank were among the top five companies in terms of transaction amount. Nabil Balance Fund topped the chart in terms of the number of shares traded (609,080 units). Last week, the overall market turnover saw a 20.30 percent rise to reach Rs 871.8 million. A total of 2,981,847 shares were traded last week. Transaction of ‘A’ category companies amounted to Rs 438.8 million — 50.34 percent of the total market transaction. Over the review period, seven companies listed their bonus shares on the exchange. These include Siddhartha Bank, Nepal Life Insurance Company, Prudential Insurance Company, Nepal Insurance Company, Shikhar Insurance, Swabalamban Micro-finance Development Bank and Nepal Credit _ Commerce Bank.