NEPSE Dips on First Trading Day; Confidence Wavers, Select Sectors Resist

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) opened the week on a bearish note, with the benchmark index dropping by 11.06 points (0.41%) to settle at 2,629.89. The Sensitive Index, which tracks major and fundamentally strong companies, also declined by 0.45% to 449.27 points.

A total of 313 scrips were traded today, with more than 19.99 million shares changing hands. The total turnover stood at over NPR 9.13 billion.

Out of the 13 sectors listed on NEPSE, only the Hydropower and Hotel & Tourism groups closed in the green. The hydropower index rose by 1.22%, while the hotel and tourism sector inched up by 0.12%. Conversely, the banking sector faced the steepest decline, dropping 1.05%. Other sectors also recorded losses: development banks fell by 0.06%, finance companies by 0.91%, investment companies by 0.08%, life insurance by 0.77%, manufacturing and processing by 0.74%, microfinance by 0.70%, mutual funds by 0.10%, non-life insurance by 0.95%, trading by 0.23%, and the others group by 0.88%.

Among the most traded stocks of the day, Radhi Bidyut led the pack with a turnover exceeding NPR 729 million. Universal Power followed closely with NPR 627 million in transactions, while Ngadi Group Power recorded NPR 617 million. Butwal Power and Sanima Mai Hydropower also had strong trading volumes of NPR 445 million and NPR 440 million respectively.

As for the day’s biggest gainers, River Falls Power and Pure Energy hit the upper circuit, while other notable gainers included Chhyangdi Hydropower, which rose by 8.57%, Himalayan Power Partner by 8.03%, and Chilime Hydropower by 7.79%.

On the flip side, Om Megashree Pharmaceuticals was the biggest loser of the day, dropping by the maximum 10%. Nepal Micro Insurance and Samaj Laghubitta both declined by 8.28%, while Crest Micro Life followed closely with a loss of 7.73%.