The cabinet expansion and the appointment of a new finance minister have failed to lift the confidence of stock market investors. The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) plunged by double-digit on Sunday, the first trading day of the week. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday expanded the cabinet, inducting 11 ministers, in which Nepali Congress leader Dr. Prakash Saran Mahat was given the Finance Ministry portfolio. Unlike the appointment of Bishnu Poudel as finance minister in December 2022, the appointment of Dr. Mahat has received a cold response from the share market. The benchmark index fell by 20 points on Sunday. On the contrary, when Poudel took charge of the Finance Ministry on December 27, 2022, the Nepse index surged by 59.87 points.

During Poudel’s tenure, the stock market had risen by 427 points. And, the market lost 180 points following his exit from the Finance Ministry.

On Sunday, the benchmark index had again fallen below 1900 points as the Nepse index closed at 1888.55 points. On Sunday, the Nepse opened at 1,910.49 points and hit an intraday high of 1,928.66 points before rising to the intraday low of 1,883.04 points and settling at 1,888.55 points. The Nepse recorded a daily turnover of Rs 1.20bn on Sunday which was slightly higher than Thursday. The stock market has been on a downward spiral after the mid-term review of the monetary policy and the central bank tightening the dividend distribution of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Along with the daily turnover, the number of trade shares also increased on Sunday. The number of shares traded decreased to 3.78 million scripts from 2.75 million on Thursday. Kumari Bank Promoter Shares were traded the most on Sunday while NIC Asia Bank recorded the highest turnover of Rs 50.5 million. All the sub-indices turned red on Sunday with the trading sub-index losing the most. On Sunday, Kalinchowk Darshan Limited, Citizens Mutual Fund-1, Jeevan Bikas Laghubitta, NIC Asia Flexi CAP Fund, and Swet-Ganga Hydropower & Construction Limited led the market as top gainers while Swabhimaan Laghubitta, Prabhu Bank Debenture 2087, Kalika Laghubitta, Vijaya Laghubitta, and Maya Khola Hydropower Company were the top losers. Top Five Gainers 

Company Gain Kalinchowk Darshan Limited             9.96% Citizens Mutual Fund-1                                               6.10% Jeevan Bikas Laghubitta                                                       4.87% NIC Asia Flexi CAP Fund                             2.51% Swet-Ganga Hydropower & Construction                          2.50%

  Top Five Losers

Company Gain Swabhimaan Laghubitta                                            -9.61% Prabhu Bank Debenture 2087                                                -9.60% Kalika Laghubitta                                                       -7.49% Vijaya Laghubitta                                                             -6.69% Maya Khola Hydropower Company                                -6.02%