NEPSE Below 2,800 Again

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index slipped further on Wednesday, March 11, falling 1.64% (46.78 points) to close at 2,796.57, below the 2,800 mark, after a 1.11% drop on Tuesday.

Trading resumed on Monday after nearly a week-long closure due to the House of Representatives election and public holidays. Investor optimism following the election results had triggered a sharp rally, pushing the NEPSE index up 6% in a single day. Three automatic circuit breakers halted trading at different intervals, with the index finally closing at 2,875.43.

Despite the recent decline, experts say the market is trying to hold its ground, as trading volumes remain high.

On Wednesday, total turnover stood at Rs 13.18 billion, down from Rs 21.5 billion on Tuesday, with 36,049,451 shares traded across 115,550 transactions.

All major sub-indices ended in the red, with the float index down 1.65%, the sensitive index 1.69%, and the sensitive float index 1.76%.

Share prices of 225 companies fell, while 34 rose and three remained unchanged.

Salapa Bikas Bank Limited (SABBL) was the top gainer, hitting the upper circuit limit to close at Rs 862.40, followed by National Hydro Power Company Limited (NHPC) with a 9.96% gain and Reliance Spinning Mills Limited (RSML) up 9.33%.

On the losing side, Kalika Power Company Ltd (KPCL) saw the steepest drop of 8.47%.

Ridi Power Company Limited (RIDI) led turnover at Rs 859.45 million, followed by Ankhu Khola Jalvidhyut Company Ltd (AKJCL) and NHPC.

Among sectoral indices, only the Mutual Fund index ended in green, gaining 0.34%, while the Trading Index fell the most at 3.40%, followed by the Finance Index at 2.08%.

Market capitalization stood at Rs 4,704.56 billion, down from Rs 4,783.26 billion the previous day.