The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) hit an all-time high of 1,721.77 points on Monday jumping 36.6 points as bank stocks soared.

Priya Raj Regmi, president of the Stock Brokers’ Association of Nepal, said a sharp rise in demand for shares of commercial banks pushed up the Nepse.

“The banking index has been seeing slow growth for a long time and investors might have thought that it was due for a take-off,” he said. “In addition, the government’s move to send back the Bank and Financial Institutions Act (Bafia) to the parliamentary Finance Committee for a revision could have influenced the market.”

Last week, the government returned the controversial Bafia bill to the House panel following widespread criticism over changes made to its key provisions that could compromise good governance in the banking sector. 

On Monday, the index of commercial banks rose 61.07 points which was followed by development banks, hydropower and finance companies. Of the two losers, insurance and hotels, the first group saw a drop of 95.57 points. 

Everest Bank posted the biggest turnover of Rs99.54 million. Nepal SBI Bank, Nepal Bangladesh Bank, Nabil Bank and NMB Bank were among the top five companies in terms of turnover.

Likewise, promoter shares of Rastriya Beema Company was the biggest gainer with an addition of 1,046 points while NLG Insurance posted the biggest fall of 75 points. Along with the upward spiral in the Nepse, turnover reached Rs1.63 billion

with 4,925,276 shares changing hands. Market capitalisation amounted to Rs1,846.92 billion.