Nepse gains 7.09 points
KATHMANDU, June 29:
The domestic stock market added 7.09 points, or 1.45 percent, to its benchmark index over the week led by gains made by the banking sector.
The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index, which opened at 488.45 points on Sunday, ended the week at 495.54 points on Thursday, the last trading day of the week, as most of the commercial banks ended higher.
“Commercial banks got a lift this week mainly due to rumors that Nepal Rastra Bank (the banking sector regulator) is all set to instruct banks and financial institutions to raise capital through injection of cash or merger,” Narendra Sijapati, president of the Stockbroker Association of Nepal, told Republica.
Banks and financial institutions are said to be short of cash which, on one hand, has eroded their loss absorbing capacity, while on the other, limited their lending capacity. “Since it was said the central bank will address this problem through upcoming monetary policy, stock investors remained upbeat this week,” Sijapati said.
Because of this the banking sub-index gained 9.87 points to end the week at 490.47 points, despite building up of year-end selling pressure. Selling pressure usually builds during the final month of every fiscal year as investors who have financed share purchases through bank loans need to pay installments and interest amounts.
Nepse´s weekly report shows most of the commercial banks had posted moderate gains over the week, with Nabil Bank leading the pack.
Nabil Bank added Rs 62 to its share value over the week to close at Rs 1,773 on Thursday. Likewise, shares of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal gained Rs 8 to end the week at Rs 1,810, while stocks of Everest Bank closed at Rs 1,530 on Thursday, up from Sunday´s opening price of Rs 1,515. Similarly, Nepal Investment Bank added Rs 33 to its share value over the week to close at Rs 740 on Thursday and shares of Himalayan Bank gained Rs 24 over the week to close at Rs 700.
Among others, state-run Nepal Telecom, the largest listed company on Nepse, gained Rs 10 over the week to close at Rs 530 on Thursday.
Source: Republica
