NEPSE bullish after budget

The secondary market has reacted positively towards the new budget, with the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index rising by double digits. The NEPSE index on Tuesday climbed 26.23 points to close at a seven-month high of 743.69 points.

The main part of the new budget that had investors agog on Monday was the provision for reducing the capital gains tax from 15 percent to 10 percent. The earlier Maoist-led government had levied a 15 percent capital gains tax, increasing the amount from 10 percent.

The cut in capital gains tax means investors have to pay less money to the government out of their net profit while selling stock.

And so upbeat was the mood at NEPSE that out of 40 companies, only one lost its share price on Tuesday.

The most impressive performances were recorded by the banking and the hydropower sector, whose gains contributed most to pushing up the overall index. On Tuesday, the hydropower sector was up by 67.7 points while the banking sector soared by 25.57 points. All the sub-indices on the NEPSE witnessed increases on Tuesday. The insurance sector grew by 20.93 points, the development sector was up by 16 points and the finance sector, the only one to see single-digit growth, recorded an increase of 5.97 points.

Among the 18 commercial banks on NEPSE, Nabil Bank posted the biggest growth, with its stock rising by 205 points.

Similarly, among the seven development banks whose shares were traded on NEPSE on Tuesday, Sanima Bikas Bank witnessed the highest increase of 40 points.Likewise, ICFC Bittiya Sansthan was the highest gainer among finance companies, with an increase of 46 points in its share price.

Shares of 10 financial institutions were traded on NEPSE on Tuesday.The turnover at NEPSE on Tuesday stood at Rs. 39.528 million through 66,749 units of shares. The top five gainers on NEPSE were Butwal Power Company Limited with a 9.95 percent rise in its stock price followed by Nepal Life Insurance Company Limited, Citizens Bank International Limited, ICFC Bittiya Sansthan Limited and Anapurna Bikas Bank Limited.
Similarly, the only loser on Tuesday was National Hydro Power Company, which fell by 1.1 percent. Nabil Bank topped the chart in terms of turnover with Rs. 5.516 million.