The benchmark index had gone down by 19.16 points last week. Though market remained less volatile this week compared to the last trading week, analysts say upcoming political developments will determine the market course in the days to come."Unofficial trade embargo by India and unrest in Tarai districts made big impact on the market this week. Despite this, investors were calm," Priya Raj Regmi, president of Stock Brokers Association of Nepal (SBAN), told Republica. "While there are investors who want to get rid of the stocks they are holding amid fears stemming from the political turmoil, there are also long-term investors want to buy shares as they expect political uncertainty and turmoil to end soon."
According to Regmi, these long-term investors are expecting better business environment in the country with the promulgation of new constitution. They believe it will pay off in the long run, he added.
While the market posted gains in first three trading days, the benchmark index fell 2.54 points on Thursday. Nepse remained closed on Sunday due to a public holiday to celebrate Indrajatra festival.
Narendra Sijapati, operator of Kalika Securities, told Republica that dividend distribution season has driven the market up. "This is the season when listed companies announce dividend. As most of the bank and financial institutions (BFIs) are announcing bonus shares to meet the new paid-up capital requirement, many investors are trying to get hold of the shares of BFIs. The heavyweight trading group has pushed up the whole market," he added.
All trading groups ended on the green territory this week. Hydropower group was the biggest gainer of the week as its sub-index jumped 25.95 points to settle at 2,041.57 points. Banking, the heavyweight trading group in the secondary market, also climbed up 25.67 points to end the week at 1,122.09 points. Hotels group also ended 23.2 points higher at 1,912.81 points. The sub-indices of Development Bank, Insurance and Finance groups also went up by 11.33 points, 7.76 points and 5.91 points, respectively, to close the week at 956.9 points, 4,943.1 points and 567.19 points. Manufacturing and Processing, and Others groups also logged gains of 4.15 points and 4.7 points to close at 2,043.39 points and 768.34 points, respectively. Trading sub-index inched up 0.98 point to finish at 207.97 points.
A total of 3.08 million units of shares of 151 companies worth Rs 1.99 billion were traded in the market this week through 9,914 transactions. The turnover is 23.04 percent higher than total turnover recorded last week.
Everest Bank Ltd and Global IME Bank Ltd topped the list of companies in terms of turnover (Rs 274.6 million) and number of shares traded (194,000 units), respectively. Similarly, Sanima Bank Ltd was at the top in terms number of transactions (744).
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