The daily turnover at Nepse in the past few weeks was around Rs 1bn or less. On Tuesday, 202 companies’ share prices recorded gains while eight were the losers.
The stock market started to go upward from the early trading on Monday after media outlets began to circulate the news of Poudel becoming Finance Minister. What drove the market in an upward trajectory on Monday and Tuesday was Poudel’s previous tenure as Finance Minister. The domestic stock market had hit an all-time high during both tenures of Poudel—first in 2015 and second in 2020. Investors are now expecting the same in Poudel’s third tenure. In 2015, Nepse reached over 1,800 for the first time, and in 2020, during the end of the tenure of Poudel as the finance minister, the bourse hit an all-time high crossing 3,200 points. The stock market has been on a bearish run for over a year after Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) tightened the margin lending, and liquidity crunch and high-interest rates hit the banking system. The stock market made massive gains as investors await steps Poudel will take to bring back the confidence of stock investors. It is yet to be seen if the market continues the gains of Monday and Tuesday. “With the appointment of Bishnu Paudel as the finance minister, investors have regained their confidence,” said Tulsi Ram Dhakal, a stock investor. According to him, given the past tenures of Poudel as the finance minister, investors have hoped the government will bring policy reforms. On Tuesday, minister Paudel met some leaders of investors’ associations and assured them to work to address the problems in the country's capital market.
