NEPSE down, market cap up Stock Market in 08/09

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index saw a decline in the fiscal year 2008/09 with the index reaching 749.10 points from 963.4 points in 2007/08.

Despite the decline, the index is still higher than in past years. The NEPSE index had reached 683.9 points in 2006/07. The NEPSE has been on an ascending trend from 2002/03 when the index was as low as 204.9 points.

Although NEPSE saw a decline last year, market capitalisation went up to Rs. 512.94 billion from Rs. 366.3 billion in 2007/08. Market capitalisation has been growing over the last seven years with a growing number of companies issuing shares and getting listed on NEPSE.

According to NEPSE, it witnessed a decline in trading last year with a turnover of Rs. 21.68 billion against Rs. 22.82 billion in the previous year. The turnover had been rising continuously over the last seven years until last year.

The trade volume stood at 4.23 percent of market capitalization last year which is a decline against the figure of the previous year when this ratio remained at 6.2 percent.

The contribution of market capitalisation to the Gross Domestic Product went up to as high as 53.43 percent last year although its share was just 7.2 percent in 2002/03. Its contribution to the GDP was 44.7 percent in the previous year.

As many as 17 new companies were registered last year with the total number of companies listed on NEPSE reaching 159. NEPSE, however, has not de-listed any company last year although six companies had been de-listed in the previous week.

Nepal Bangladesh Bank came out tops in terms of total trade volume with Rs. 1.69 billion last year, whereas National Hydropower led in terms of total shares traded with 3.20 million units. Nepal Development and Employment Promotion Bank witnessed the largest number of transactions last year with its shares being traded 16,284 times.
Source: eKantipur