KATHMANDU, April 1: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index opened the last trading session of the week in green but profit boking in the morning dragged the benchmark towards red briefly. However, stocks found some footing after mid-day and climbed above the opening level to trade around 15 points higher. Stocks plateaued thereafter, finally closing Thursday’s session at 2,631.90 – up 12.88 points against the session earlier.
The index stretched its advance for a third straight day as most of the sectors saw strength. The rebound from 2,370 mark has pushed the index close to its all-time high on Thursday. Hence, investors will likely be watchful of the index’s movement at the current level, which might result in a consolidation or correction in the present context. Turnover, however, improved on the day as over Rs. 7.25 billion worth of shares changed hands.
Barring few sectors, most of the sub-groups ended in green. Hotels and Tourism Index fell 2%, while Investment, Life Insurance and Mutual Fund stocks fell marginally. Trading index saw massive strength and jumped 6.61%. ‘Others’ sector also saw notable buying pressure as the group’s sub-index rose 3.14%. Development Bank stocks climbed 2% on average. All other sectors saw modest gains on the day.
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Shares of Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Ltd were traded the most with a turnover of Rs. 302 million. Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Ltd and Api Power Company Ltd saw transactions of Rs. 244 million and Rs. 240 million. Nepal Reinsurance Company Ltd, Nepal Telecom Ltd and Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Company Ltd were among other active stocks on Thursday.
Sanjen Jalavidhyut Company Ltd led the list of gainers and surged exactly 10%. United Finance Ltd, Kisan Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, Womi Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, NIC Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd, Ajod Insurance Ltd, Shree Investment Finance and Co Ltd and Salt Trading Corporation also rallied more than 9% each.
On the other hand, Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Ltd suffered the most and fell 5.53%. Sanima General Insurance Ltd, Chandragiri Hills Ltd and Summit Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd followed suit with declines of 3% each. Besides, few microfinance stocks witnessed firm correction on the day.
The Nepse index formed a small red candlestick after closing below the opening level. Nonetheless, the index climbed higher than previous close suggesting some indecision prevailing in the equity market. Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) suggest that buyers are gaining momentum. Hence, a breakout of the previous closing high of 2,640 mark will be crucial for the market to stretch the uptrend further.
This column is produced by ARKS Capital Advisors Ltd.
(Views expressed in the article are those of the producer and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication)
www.arkscapitaladvisors.com
