Stock market up 7.86 points; hotels lead

NEPAL Stock Exchange (Nepse) last week rose 7.86 points to close at 548.40 points on Thursday. With the listed companies, particularly commercial banks, announcing huge profits in the last fiscal year, the stock market has witnessed increased investor interest lately. The market, which opened at 540.54 points on Sunday, maintained its upward momentum throughout the week. Stock analyst Rabindra Bhattarai said as usual, investors are expecting benefits after annual general meetings of listed companies at the beginning of the new fiscal year. “As a result, the index moved up with increase in investment,” he said. Six out of the nine groups posted growth. Hotels (up 24.88 points) led the gainers side. Others, Commercial Banks, Development Banks, Hydropower Companies and Finance Companies followed. While the trading group’s index remained stable at 172.23 points, Insurance Companies and Manufacturing registered posted losses. Bhattarai expressed hope that the market would maintain its upward trend in the coming days. He said growing number of institutional investors, such as mutual funds, has helped boost the secondary market. “However, the sustainability of the growth also depends on political changes that could take place in the future,” he said. The sensitive index that measures transaction of A category companies grew by 2.54 points to close at 138.11 points. Global IME Bank topped in terms of both the number of shares traded and transaction volume. The bank recorded transaction worth Rs 90.75 million from the trading of 709,006 shares. National Life Insurance Company, Chilime Hydropower Company, Lumbini Bank and Asian Insurance Company were among the top five companies in terms of transaction amont. The capital market, however, saw a 12.50 percent drop in the overall transaction. The market last week realized a turnover of Rs 634.5 million from the trading of 2,709,302 shares. In the previous week, the transaction amount was at Rs 676ð1 million from the trading of 2,071,930 shares. “A” category companies witnessed a turnover of Rs 271.4 million — 42.78 percent of the total transaction.