Nepse posts modest gain; turnover improves to Rs 4.53 billion

KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index closed the week with a modest gain on Friday, while market turnover also improved compared to the previous session.

The benchmark index inched up by 1.63 points after a volatile session during which it fell below the psychological support level of 2,700 points to an intraday low of 2,692.14. However, the index pared all the losses and closed the session 0.06% higher.

Despite the gain, the number of declining scrips outnumbered the gainers. Unit prices of 140 scrips declined during the session, while 116 advanced and 17 remained unchanged. Trading activity picked up, with daily turnover reaching Rs 4.53 billion. A total of 10.92 million shares changed hands through 61,170 transactions on Friday.

Among individual scrips, Apollo Hydropower Ltd recorded the biggest gain of 14.99%. Next were Sopan Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Support Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd with gains of 14.02% and 9.08%, respectively. In contrast, Bungal Hydro Ltd logged the largest loss of 12.45%. Aaatmanirbhar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and 10% Citizen Bank Debenture 2090 followed with losses of 10.21% and 8.52%, respectively.

Two debenture schemes of Global IME Ltd topped the turnover chart. Global IME Bank Debenture 2086/87 recorded the highest transaction volume of the session, with units worth Rs 331.12 million traded. Next were Global IME Bank Debenture 2084/85 and Sopan Pharmaceuticals Ltd with turnovers of Rs 327.61 million and Rs 201.36 million, respectively.

Seven trading groups posted gains on Friday, while the remaining six ended the session in the red. The biggest gain came from the Trading sub-index, which closed the session 0.75% higher. On the other hand, the Mutual Fund sub-index recorded the biggest loss of 0.49%.