Nepse index shoots above 500 points
KATHMANDU, NOV 21:
The raging bull in the stock market has pushed the benchmark index over 500 points –– the highest in the last 30 months.
The Nepse index jumped to 501.51 points today, as shares have become a better investment tool for investors. It surged by 8.71 points from yesterday’s closing. In the last seven months, the index has scaled up by more than 67 per cent since its recent bull rally which started in mid-April this year.
The index was this high last in May 2010. Since December 2010, it had plunged below 400 points and even reached 292 points in June 2011.
For the last one year, it was bobbing around 300 points which started to rise from April.
Learning from April’s incident when the process of combatant integration had injected the rally in the stock market, investors are buying shares in expectation that another consensus will once again help share prices rise.
The eventual political consensus which will be met sooner or later and budget announcement that will fire share prices once again has led to investors buying shares so that they can take advantage later.
The lack of alternative areas of investment due to the slow down in the real estate sector and commodities market along with a low bank interest rate has also diverted more investors to stock market.
Due to increased share prices, market capitalisation of the stock exchange increased by almost Rs eight billion to Rs 474 billion today, from yesterday’s market capitalisation that stood at Rs 466 billion.
Among the 92 companies whose shares were traded today, only 19 scrips’ share prices ended up in the red.
Today, 416,974 shares worth Rs 141 million belonging to 92 companies were traded in 1796 transactions.
Today all the subgroups except for others were able to register gains.
The hydropower subgroup was the biggest earner of the day gaining 24.79 points, as Chilime Hydropower and Butwal Power Company gained Rs 22 and Rs 30 on each share. Hotels which gained 17.03 points came in second, as Soaltee Hotel earned Rs 12 per unit a day after it won the World Travel Awards.
Commercial banks earned 13.52 points and insurance companies earned 6.32 points. Nepal Telecom lost Re 1 per unit share due to which the others subgroup slipped by 1.18 points.
Shares of Nepal Bangladesh Bank (NB Bank) and NCC Bank were the day’s biggest gainers at the stock exchange whose share prices increased by almost 10 per cent.
Source: THT
