Stock Market Under Pressure Again

After showing some recovery in the last two trading days following the Gen-Z protests, Nepal’s stock market once again came under pressure on Wednesday. The NEPSE index, which had climbed by 170 points until Tuesday, slipped by 27.89 points to close at 2654.35.

Trading volume also declined. While turnover had crossed NPR 5 billion on Tuesday, Wednesday’s transactions amounted to only NPR 4.12 billion. Analysts say that profit-booking and the need to manage Dashain festival expenses led to increased selling pressure.

Sector and Company Performance

Out of 13 sub-indices, only Hotels & Tourism and Mutual Funds closed in green, while the remaining 11 turned red.

• Top Gainers: Upper Mailung Khola Hydropower, City Hotel, and Him Star Energy hit the positive circuit level.

• Top Loser: Unnati Sahakarya Laghubitta dropped by 5.38%, becoming the weakest performer of the day.

In terms of turnover, Union Hydropower led with NPR 2.21 billion worth of trades, followed by Nepal Reinsurance Company with nearly NPR 1.7 billion.

Technical Analysis

According to technical analyst Ajit Khanal, the index faced resistance at the 38.2% retracement level (2692 points) and reacted negatively. Although NEPSE remains below the 200-day moving average, it is attempting to break above this level. If the market sustains above the 200-day MA, investor confidence could return in the coming days.

However, the decline in turnover signals weakness. Except for the 6% circuit-break days, Wednesday marked the lowest turnover since mid-January. After 12:10 PM, the index consistently made new intraday lows.

Sectoral Trends

Heavy selling was observed in major hydropower stocks, pushing the hydropower sub-index’s share of total turnover above 40%.
Similarly, the development bank group accounted for more than 10% of overall trading.

Broker Activity

Out of the 10 largest brokerage firms, seven recorded more sales than purchases, showing a strong profit-booking trend among short-term investors.

Despite a brief rebound after the Gen-Z turmoil, the market slipped back under pressure on Wednesday. Profit-taking and festival-related cash requirements dragged NEPSE lower, while turnover shrank. Whether the index can build stability above the 200-day moving average will determine the market’s direction in the days ahead.