Benchmark Nepse index up 35 points
KATHMANDU, April 24: Stock market has responded positively to an agreement between the government and the Madhesi parties regarding constitution amendment and local level election reached on Saturday, with the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index going up by 35.38 points on Sunday.
Share prices started going up as soon as the market opened for trading on Sunday as investors, buoyed by election, went on a buying spree. The benchmark index closed at 1,693.72 points.
While the market had remained volatile last week clouded by election uncertainty, the stocks rallied on the first trading day of the week. Market analysts have attributed the rally to the agreement reached last night for amendment to constitution that has paved way for Madhes-based parties to participate in the upcoming local level elections.
Earlier, the agitating Madhes-based parties had not only decided to boycott the election scheduled for next month, but also vowed to disrupt it. However, the decision of the Madhes-based parties to participate in the election has lifted the confidence of investors, according to analysts.
“With the agitating parties coming on board the election process, investors believe that there will be political stability in the country. This election prospect has made investors bullish,” Anjan Raj Poudal, a stock broker, told Republica. “Also, investors are hopeful that the crunch in lendable fund in the banking system will end once the government starts spending money for the election,” he added.
Due to high buying pressure, the market jumped by 3 percent in the first trading hour, which led the Nepse management to clamp circuit breaker. Similarly, a technical glitch in the trading platform of Nepse also halted the trading for 25 minutes. Nepse, however, extended trading hours by 25 minutes later on.
Election uncertainty makes stock market volatile
