NEPSE stands for Nepal Stock Exchange — the only stock exchange in Nepal. If you've heard people talk about "share bazar" in Nepal, they're talking about NEPSE.
How does it work?
Think of NEPSE like a marketplace. But instead of vegetables or clothes, people buy and sell shares (small ownership pieces) of companies. When you buy a share of NABIL Bank, you own a tiny piece of that bank.
The basic flow
- A company lists its shares on NEPSE (this is called an IPO — Initial Public Offering)
- After listing, anyone with a Demat account can buy and sell those shares
- The price of each share goes up and down based on demand — more buyers than sellers means the price rises, and vice versa
Trading hours
NEPSE operates Monday through Friday, typically:
- Opening time: 11:00 AM NPT
- Closing time: 3:00 PM NPT
The market is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as public holidays.
Note: NEPSE previously traded Sunday through Thursday, then briefly ran a six-day Sunday-to-Friday schedule (with shortened Friday hours), before settling into the current Monday-Friday week after Nepal moved to a Saturday-Sunday weekend. Always confirm the current session at nepalstock.com — settlement is T+2.
What do you need to start?
To begin trading on NEPSE, you need three things:
-
Demat account — This is where your shares are stored electronically. Think of it like a bank account, but for shares instead of cash. You can open one through any bank or deposit participant (DP).
-
Trading account — This is linked to your Demat account and lets you place buy/sell orders. Your bank or broker can set this up.
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Some capital — You don't need lakhs to start. Many shares trade for under Rs. 500 per unit. Start with an amount you're comfortable learning with.
Key terms to know
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Share | A unit of ownership in a company |
| Demat | Electronic form of holding shares (no paper certificates) |
| IPO | Initial Public Offering — when a company first sells shares to the public |
| Broker | A licensed intermediary who places your buy/sell orders on NEPSE |
| Circuit | The maximum price a share can move up or down in a single day (usually ±10%) |
| Lot size | Minimum number of shares you can buy in one transaction (usually 10 for most stocks, 50 for some) |
A word of caution
The stock market is not a guaranteed way to make money. Prices go up and prices go down, and people who tell you otherwise are selling something. Two practical suggestions for the first year: invest only money you can afford to lose while you learn, and don't put it all into one stock because a friend on Viber said so.
In the next article we'll look at the P/E ratio — usually the first number people quote when arguing about whether a stock is cheap or expensive.