Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The stock market witnessed a significant slowdown in trading activity in fiscal year 2025/26, with annual turnover falling 24.61% despite an increase in the number of listed securities.
According to annual trading data, turnover fell to around Rs 1,601.87 billion in 2025/26 from Rs 2,124.91 billion a year earlier. The number of shares traded also fell by 21.99% to 3.78 billion units. A total of 4.84 billion units had changed hands in 2024/25.
Likewise, average daily turnover dropped by 21.91% to Rs 7.18 billion in 2025/26, down from Rs 9.20 billion in the previous fiscal year. However, it is significantly higher than the average daily turnover of Rs 3.2 billion in 2023/24.
Data show the number of transactions fell by 18.27% to 18.17 million in 2025/26 from 22.24 million in the previous fiscal year. The total number of transactions was 14.79 million in 2023/24.
The total paid-up value of listed shares went up by 8.53% to Rs 944.04 billion in 2025/26. It had gone up by 5.97% to Rs 869.85 billion in 2024/25.
Total market capitalization—the total worth of listed shares—however, fell 4.15% to Rs 4,463.55 billion. In 2024/25, total market capitalization stood at Rs 4,656.98 billion.
The benchmark index began 2025/26 at 2,794.78 points and ended at 2,597.80, a decline of 7.05%. The index nevertheless went through considerable volatility, touching nearly 3,002 points in July 2025 and falling to around 2,487 points in October before staging a recovery in the second half of the fiscal year.
The most striking feature of the annual data is the continued dominance of the hydropower sector.
Hydropower shares generated turnover of about Rs 710.51 billion in 2025/26, accounting for roughly 44% of total annual turnover. Although trading in the sector declined 13.67% from the previous year, the fall was substantially smaller than the overall market contraction.
Next were the Manufacturing & Processing and Commercial Bank sectors with total turnovers of Rs 147.74 billion and Rs 130.06 billion. While the Manufacturing & Processing sector recorded a growth of 86.85% from Rs 79.06 billion in 2024/25, the Commercial Banks sector saw turnover fall 32.01% from Rs 191.28 billion in 2024/25
The weakest performances came from the Finance, Non-life insurance and Trading sectors, whose turnovers fell 66.64%, 61.70% and 51.08%, respectively, to Rs 56.45 billion, Rs 28.46 billion and Rs 3.10 billion.
Turnover of debentures, however, jumped from just Rs 3.34 billion in 2024/25 to Rs 34.27 billion in 2025/26, a staggering 927.15% growth. Although debentures still represent only a small portion of the overall market, the rapid growth in transactions suggests that more investors are interested in fixed-income securities at a time when equity-market activity is weakening. It also indicates that the secondary market for debt instruments may be developing into a more meaningful component of the capital market.
Individual Stocks
Ngadi Group Power Ltd led listed companies in terms of turnover. Data show Rs 38.78 billion worth of the company’s shares traded hands in 2025/26.
Next were Shivam Cements and Himalayan Reinsurance Ltd with total turnovers of Rs 38.22 billion and Rs 37.29 billion, respectively.
However, Ankhukhola Jalavidyut Company was at the top in terms of the number of shares traded. Nepse data show 107.38 million units of the company’s shares were traded during the year. Next were Ngadi Group Power Ltd and Kumari Bank Ltd with 90.13 million and 85.94 million units of shares traded, respectively.
Likewise, Solu Hydropower Ltd topped the listed companies in terms of number of transactions. The company’s shares were traded through 422,596 transactions in 2025/26. Next were SY Panel Nepal Ltd and Himalayan Reinsurance Ltd, whose shares were traded through 415,792 and 364,574 transactions, respectively.
Sagarmatha Securities led the list of stockbrokers in terms of total transactions in 2025/26, processing share transactions of Rs 9.71 billion
Next were Brilliant Securities and Sunrise Securities with total transactions worth Rs 9.61 billion and Rs 9.6 billion, respectively.
