Stocks End the Week on a Muted Note

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index inched up 0.04 percent, or 1.13 points, on Thursday, November 13, to close at 2,545.73.

The benchmark index recorded gains only once earlier in the week — a 0.12 percent uptick on Tuesday — after falling 1.15 percent on Sunday, 0.16 percent on Monday, and 0.80 percent on Wednesday.

Market activity also slowed, with daily turnover shrinking to Rs 3.49 billion, down from Rs 3.84 billion the previous day. Over 7.6 million shares were traded in 50,621 transactions, compared to 8.4 million shares across 66,824 transactions on Wednesday.

All key sub-indices ended slightly lower: the Sensitive Index fell 0.03 percent, the Float Index slipped 0.01 points, and the Sensitive Float Index dropped 0.04 percent.

Out of the total traded securities, 123 advanced, 124 declined, and 8 remained unchanged.

Among the 13 sectoral indices, seven closed higher. The Trading sector led the gains, climbing 0.79 percent, while Manufacturing & Processing suffered the biggest decline, down 0.28 percent.

Mabilung Energy Limited (MABEL) and Swet-Ganga Hydropower & Construction Limited (SGHC) topped the gainers’ list, both surging 10 percent. In contrast, Nepal Micro Insurance Company Limited (NMIC) posted the sharpest loss, down 4.82 percent.

In turnover terms, Himalayan Power Partner Ltd. (HPPL) led the market with Rs 168.04 million, followed by Himalayan Distillery Limited (HDL) at Rs 139.17 million, and Union Hydropower Limited (UNHPL) at Rs 133.08 million.

Overall market capitalisation rose to Rs 4,273.14 billion from Rs 4,271.24 billion on Wednesday.