On Monday, the NEPSE index, a key benchmark for the share market, plunged by 57.03 points (2.16%) to close at 2,580.76 points, marking a significant drop on the second trading day of the week. This decline follows a 50.73-point decrease on Sunday, continuing a downward trend that has seen the NEPSE fall by 249.42 points over the past nine trading days since September 4.
The sensitive index, which tracks ‘A’ group companies, fell by 8.54 points (1.82%) to end at 460.11 points. All major sub-indices experienced sharp declines during today’s trading. The non-life insurance sector saw the steepest drop with a 252.76-point decrease, followed by the life insurance and finance groups with declines of 244.96 and 186.75 points, respectively.
Other sectors also reported losses: hotels and tourism dropped by 163.29 points, development banks by 142.59 points, and manufacturing and processing by 120.18 points. Microfinance, trading, hydropower, and banking groups saw declines of 123.13, 102.99, 74.65, and 23.56 points, respectively. The ‘others’ sub-index fell by 47.30 points, mutual funds by 0.25 points, and investments by 2.73 points.
The overall turnover decreased, with 17,061,807 shares worth Rs. 7.36 billion traded across 312 companies in 92,815 transactions. This is down from Rs. 10.10 billion traded on Sunday.
Among the 227 companies with falling share prices, Goodwill Finance experienced the largest drop at 9.91%, followed by Three Star Hydropower at 9.36%, and Nepal Finance at 8.42%. In contrast, Aatmanirbhar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha saw the highest growth at 10%, with Himalayan Hydropower, Janautthan Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha, and Rawa Energy Development also showing notable increases.
