NEPSE Falls Again, But Tourism Stocks Shine

Nepal’s stock market continued its downward trend for the fifth consecutive trading day. On Thursday, the NEPSE index fell by 8.41 points, closing at 2,611 points. This decline reflects ongoing investor caution and market instability.

Despite the overall drop, not all companies were in the red. Out of the total traded companies, share prices of 82 companies increased, 164 companies saw a decline, and one company remained unchanged. The total daily turnover also went down compared to the previous day, decreasing from Rs 8.73 billion to Rs 7.8 billion.

Among the various sectors, the hotel and tourism sector emerged as the top performer, showing a growth of 4.91 percent. This rise was largely due to positive third-quarter financial results from companies within the sector. The trade sector also recorded a modest gain of 0.70 percent.

On the other hand, several major sectors experienced losses. The development bank sector suffered the largest fall, dropping by 2.12 percent. Other sectors like banking, finance, hydropower, and insurance also reported declines. The banking sector dropped by 0.30 percent, finance by 0.79 percent, and hydropower by 0.65 percent. Similarly, the life insurance sector decreased by 0.41 percent, non-life insurance by 0.40 percent, and the manufacturing sector went down by 0.45 percent. Even microfinance and investment sectors saw minor dips of 0.06 percent and 0.04 percent respectively, while the "others" category dropped by 1.14 percent.

Overall, the market remained weak, with only a few bright spots like tourism stocks standing out amid the broader decline.