NEPSE

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) is the country's only stock exchange. The headline NEPSE index is capitalisation-weighted across every listed company, which means the largest listings — overwhelmingly commercial banks and, increasingly, hydropower — dominate its movement.

Trading hours

NEPSE trades Sunday to Thursday, 11:00–15:00 NPT, and is closed Friday, Saturday and public holidays. This reflects Nepal's working week, in which Saturday is the weekly holiday. Outside trading hours this page shows the most recent close rather than pretending to be live.

NEPSE vs the float index

The main index includes promoter shares that are locked up and cannot be freely traded. The float index counts only publicly tradable shares, and is generally the better gauge of what an ordinary investor's portfolio is doing.

Why sub-indices matter

A flat headline index can hide a lot. Because banking carries so much weight, a strong day for hydropower or microfinance can be entirely masked. Reading the sector sub-indices alongside the headline number tells you what actually moved.

Circuit breakers

NEPSE applies daily price bands to individual scrips and market-wide circuit breakers that halt trading after a large index move. A sharp reversal near a band limit often reflects that mechanism rather than a genuine shift in sentiment.