Stock market plunges by double digits on first trading day after budget speech

Kathmandu. The stock market fell by double digits on the first trading day after the budget speech. The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index decreased by 26.72 points to close at 2,755.37 points today.

Today, except for non-life insurance and others, the indices of all the groups have fallen, while the indices of the business group have fallen by more than 6 percent. Shares of 233 companies decreased today and 35 others increased. However, the shares of Nepal Finance and Swastik Laghubitta were not fluctuating.

Shares of Bungal Hydro fell by more than 13 percent today. Shares of Nepal Reinsurance and Kalinchowk Hydropower Ltd surged by 15 per cent on the day.

Today, the NEPSE has also seen a decrease in the turnover. A total of 13.3 million units of shares of 349 companies were traded for Rs 5.61 billion on Wednesday.

The government had increased the capital gains tax on share trading in the budget for the coming fiscal year. Now, those who sell in less than one year will have to pay 10 percent tax on profits and those who sell after one year of investment time will have to pay 7.5 percent tax on profits. Previously, this rate was only 5 to 7.5 percent.