KATHMANDU: Reopening on Monday, November 20, after a 10-day hiatus including Tihar and Chhath, investors are keenly watching the stock market’s trajectory.
Despite a lackluster performance before Tihar, optimism brews as banks announce a reduction in interest rates for November-December, leading investors to anticipate a positive turn in the market.
In the period between Dashain and Tihar, a mere 10 days witnessed a mixed performance.
Four trading days saw a market increase of 42 points, while the remaining six days witnessed a decrease of 92 points, resulting in an overall dip to 1817 points.
The last trading day recorded an 11.85-point fall to 1852.08 points.
Meanwhile, as commercial banks lower interest rates on fixed deposits for November, the market speculates on the potential positive effects.
The banking system, awash with liquidity at around Rs 5 trillion 14 billion, has seen low loan utilization due to expensive loan interest rates.
Fifteen commercial banks decreased interest rates, with Machhapuchhre Bank increasing fixed deposit rates.
The Nepal Securities Board’s implementation of a six-month lock-in period for shares received by mutual funds under reservation is seen as a measure to control market supply.
The stock market has been on a prolonged decline, prompting experts to believe that the market will gradually attract buyers, injecting momentum.
Furthermore, listed companies are hastily declaring dividends in an effort to attract investors, as share prices of financially robust companies hit record lows.
In the first three months of the current fiscal year, loans increased by 6.2 percent, reaching Rs 81 billion 176 million by mid-October.
Share mortgage loans of margin nature, however, experienced a decrease of 4.17 billion 2.6 million rupees in the last fiscal year 2079/80, dropping to 76.30 billion 83 million rupees by the end of 2080, marking a 5.2 percent decline from the previous year-end.
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