NEPSE soars to 26-month high on positive investor sentiment

KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) surged to a 26-month high of 2,310.59 points on Tuesday, as investor confidence soared following the formation of a new government.

The secondary market has been in a bullish trend since the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML formed an alliance, replacing the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Stockbrokers reported a positive response from investors to the appointment of Bishnu Prasad Paudel as the new Finance Minister.

On Tuesday, the market added a remarkable 70.18 points. The market initially opened at 2,240.41 points and dipped to 2,232.12 points in the first hour of trading. However, the index rebounded in the following hours, recovering around 80 points.

The sensitive index, which measures the performance of ‘A’ class companies, also made significant gains, adding 12.33 points. The daily turnover surged to Rs 9.13 billion, up from Rs 8.73 billion on Monday.

Out of the 13 sector groups, mutual funds were the only losers. Life insurance saw the biggest gain, soaring by 318.85 points. Other sectors, including non-life insurance, development banks, hotels and tourism, hydropower, manufacturing and processing, and microfinance, also recorded three-digit point gains in their indices.

Among individual companies, 234 were gainers, while eight recorded losses.

Ngadi Group Power Ltd had the largest turnover, with shares worth Rs 217.74 million traded. Sindhu Bikash Bank Ltd emerged as the top gainer, whereas Nepal Investment Debenture 2082 was the highest loser.

This positive market movement highlights renewed investor optimism and confidence in the country’s economic prospects under the new government leadership.