-NEPSE index slips further-

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, May 1: The country’s stock exchange index dropped by nearly one point during the last week (May 27 to May 31) following an almost six points fall during the previous week. The stock market index has slipped consecutively for the last four weeks dampening the earlier expectations that the market might improve.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index that stood at 234.04 on Monday came down to 233.28 by Friday. During the reported week, shares of 47 companies out of the 55 enlisted ones were traded on the NEPSE floor. Seen group-wise, the commercial bank index fell significantly and the financial sector index fell slightly while the indices other groups either remained constant or witnessed slight rise.

The commercial banking sector index fell from 239.32 to 227.38 while the financial sector index came down form 263.41 to 263.40. The trading and development bank sector indices remained constant at 102.91 and 288.79 respectively. The manufacturing sector index rose slightly from 283.65 to 283.87 and the insurance sector index rose form 277.63 to 285.66.

The commercial bank sector accounted for 48.68 per cent share in the total rupees’ volume of transaction on the floor in the reported week. Manufacturing sector’s share remained at 29.67 per cent, insurance sector's 12.25 per cent while the finance and hotel sectors accounted for 6.62 per cent and 1.62 per cent respectively.

Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd. topped the list of companies in terms of number of transactions. There were a total of 64 transactions of Nepal Bangladesh Bank during the reported week. Harisiddhi Brick and Tile Factory maintained a lead both in terms of the number of shares traded and the volume of transaction. A total of 1,750,000 shares of this company were traded for Rs. 4.72 million.

The NEPSE floor remained open Monday through Friday. There were a total of 620 transactions in which 1,782,614 shares were traded for Rs. 16.07 million. During the earlier week, there were 1,363 transactions in which 66,797 shares were traded for Rs. 18.81 million.

The shares of Nepal Arab Bank Ltd., Standard Chartered Bank, Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd., Bank of Kathmandu Ltd., NIC Bank Ltd., Himalayan Bank Ltd., Nepal Development Bank Ltd., Nepal Merchant Bank and Finance Company, Elpic Everest Finance Ltd., and Nepal Bangladesh Finance and Leasing Company were traded on all the open days. Nepal Lever Ltd, Nepal Insurance Company Ltd, National Life and General Insurance Company, Premier Insurance Company and Kathmandu Finance Company Ltd. had only one transaction each.

The major closings during the reported week included Nepal Arab Bank Ltd. (750-756), Nepal Standard Chartered Bank Ltd. (1600-1565), Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd. (540-558), Bank of Kathmandu (287-286), Himalayan Bank Ltd. (1015-985), Nepal SBI Bank Ltd. (445-450), Everest Bank Ltd. (480-475), and Nepal Industrial and Commercial Bank (280-286).