NEPSE Falls by 33 Points, Insurance Sector Suffers Heavy Losses

Kathmandu – The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index witnessed a significant decline on Thursday, the final trading day of the week. The index fell by 33.42 points, closing at 2,682 points, resulting in substantial losses for investors across the board, particularly in the insurance sector.

The Life Insurance Index recorded a steep drop, with all listed companies experiencing a decline in their share prices. LIC Nepal, currently in the process of issuing rights shares, faced the highest percentage decrease, with its stock price falling by 2.69 percent. Other significant losses were reported by Suryajyoti Life Insurance, Himalayan Life Insurance, and Nepal Life Insurance, with declines of 1.85 percent, 1.61 percent, and 1.38 percent, respectively.

The non-life insurance sector saw similar declines, with 11 out of 12 companies witnessing a sharp fall in share prices. However, NLG Insurance emerged as the sole exception, managing a slight increase of 0.12 percent in its stock price. United Ajod Insurance faced the heaviest loss, with a drop of 1.83 percent, followed by Siddhartha Premier Insurance, IGI Prudential Insurance, and Sanima GIC Insurance, which fell by 1.75 percent, 1.48 percent, and 1.31 percent, respectively.

The reinsurance sector also faced significant setbacks as both Nepal Re Insurance and Himalayan Re Insurance saw their stock prices decrease, contributing further to the negative sentiment in the market.