Investors continued to show strong interest in hydropower companies during the first week of the New Year. Despite only four trading days, the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) recorded a total turnover of NPR 33.88 billion. Of this, companies under the hydropower sub-group accounted for approximately 33 percent of the total trading volume.

Other notable contributions came from the “Others” sub-group, which made up 15.89 percent of total transactions, followed by the “Investment” sub-group at 13.65 percent. The “Life Insurance” and “Development Banks” sub-groups each contributed 7 percent, while the “Commercial Banks” sub-group accounted for 6 percent, according to NEPSE.

Thursday marked the highest trading volume of the week, with transactions totaling NPR 10.79 billion. Sunday recorded NPR 6.28 billion in share trades, while Tuesday and Wednesday saw turnovers of NPR 8.54 billion and NPR 7.26 billion, respectively. Trading was closed on Monday due to the New Year public holiday.

In total, 7,541,563 shares were traded across 278,640 transactions throughout the week. The NEPSE index rose by 52.03 points over the week-up from 2,670.70 points the previous Thursday to 2,772.73 points by the week’s close.

The index experienced a slight dip of 8.62 points on Sunday but gained steadily in the following sessions: 27.14 points on Tuesday, 7.01 points on Wednesday, and 26.49 points on Thursday.

Investor interest extended beyond hydropower to other sub-groups as well. The Non-Life Insurance index surged by 331.61 points, Development Banks by 228.92 points, and Hotels & Tourism by 152.53 points. The Hotels & Tourism sub-index, in particular, climbed from 6,477.63 points to 6,590.39 points over the week.

NEPSE also reported gains in several other sub-indices: Life Insurance rose by 144.83 points, Hydropower by 131.89 points, Microfinance by 44.11 points, Finance by 18.97 points, and Manufacturing & Processing by 18.32 points. Additionally, the Banking sub-index increased by 24.72 points, Investment by 7.87 points, and Mutual Funds by a marginal 0.23 points.

However, not all sectors experienced growth. The Trading sub-index declined by 97.01 points, and the Others sub-group dropped by 21.93 points, indicating a mixed performance across the board.

Source: Kantipur