NEPSE pulls out of dive

KATHMANDU, Aug 27 - After a seven-day downhill run, the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) turned around with a 3.44 point gain on Wednesday.
The secondary market went up after Security Board of Nepal (SEBON) failed to pass the proposal on conversion of 19 percent promoter shares to ordinary shares. The board meeting of SEBON was supposed to discuss this proposal on Tuesday but the meeting was cancelled due to protest.
"This won't be decided immediately," said Surbir Poudel, chairman of SEBON. "We'll move ahead after discussing it with Nepal Rastra Bank in due course of time."
There was apprehension among the investors that conversion of promoter shares to ordinary shares would trigger a huge flow of shares in the secondary market, which in turn would push the price further down. The sub-indices on NEPSE showed a mixed result as three of them gained while two lost on Wednesday. Among the sub-indices, the banking sector was the highest gainer by increasing 3.44 point followed by the development bank and finance sectors which gained 0.15 and 0.41 point respectively.
The share market witnessed a total turnover of Rs. 114.77 million with 150,247 shares being traded.
Among the 20 commercial banks listed on NEPSE, Nabil Bank posted the biggest growth with its stock rising by 240 points while Nepal Investment Bank lost the most on the trading floor by shedding 75 points.
Among the 16 development banks whose shares were traded on NEPSE on Wednesday, Pashupati Development Bank witnessed the highest increase of 33 points while Annapurna Bikas Bank dropped 23 points. Similarly among the 12 finance companies on NEPSE, Kuber Merchant Bittiya Sanstha was the highest gainer with an increase of 14 points in its share price. Lumbini Finance lost 10 points. - Kantipur Report