Continuing its bullish run, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Thursday jumped 19.9 points to close at fresh all-time high of 1,566.7 points.

The market also recorded its highest ever single-day transaction of Rs1.89 billion breaking its previous record of Rs1.44 billion on May 23.

Stockbrokers attribute the rise in the transaction to increasing demand and supply of stocks. “While an increasing number of new buyers are getting attracted towards the stock market, a number of investors are booking profits, boosting the transaction volume,” said  Anjan Raj Poudel, managing director of Thrive Brokerage House. “The volume shows growing absorption capacity of the stock market.”

After hitting 1,544.65 points on May 24, the market fell to 1,483.14 last Monday on rumours about Nepal Rastra Bank’s plans to introduce a stern policy on margin lending. Poudel said the central bank’s clarification against the rumour helped boost investor confidence.

The capital market has been in a bullish trend for the past few months, especially after the enforcement of paperless system of share transaction on January 15. As a result, the daily transaction amount that used to hover around Rs400 million has almost doubled in recent days. Currently, the average daily transaction volume stands at around Rs1 billion.

Thursday’s rise in the transaction volume was led by the insurance sub-group, which saw its index jump 595.43 points. Stockbrokers attributed the surge to insurance companies’ plans to increase their capital.

Nepal Life Insurance posted the largest individual turnover of Rs240.85 points on Thursday.