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Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) slashed the prices of petroleum products on Thursday.

The NOC decided to cut Rs 3 per litre in petrol, diesel and kerosene.

According to the new revised rate, the price of petrol will be Rs 160 per liter. Earlier,  the price of petrol was Rs 163 per liter.

Similarly, the price of kerosene and diesel will be Rs 146 per litre each. Earlier, the price of diesel and kerosene was Rs 149  per liter each.

The state-owned oil monopoly, however, has not reduced the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

The revised fuel price will come into effect from midnight today.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 26.55 points to close at 2,688.63 points on Tuesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 4.29 points to close at 450. 74 points.

A total of 21,841,047-unit shares of 320 companies were traded for Rs 8. 54 billion.

Meanwhile, Corporate Development Bank Limited (CORBL), Green Development Bank Ltd. (GRDBL) and Saptakoshi Development Bank Ltd (SAPDBL) were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 10. 00 percent.

Likewise, Balephi Hydropower Limited (BHL) was the top loser as its price fell by 9.99 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 47 trillion.

Twenty commercial banks in the country collectively earned a net profit of Rs 43.49bn over the first eight months of fiscal year 2024-25. According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the net profit over the period is 2.81 percent more than Rs 42.3bn that these banks reported in the same period of the previous fiscal year. 

Net profits of 11 commercial banks went up in the period, while nine saw a decline in their respective net profits. Nepal Bank Ltd logged the highest gain of 132.9 percent, with its net profit rising from
Rs 1.28bn in the first month of the previous fiscal year to Rs 2.98bn in the same period of the current fiscal year. Nepal Investment Mega Bank ltd (45.68 percent), Prabhu Bank (39.65 percent) and Global IME Bank Ltd (37.76 percent) also made significant net profit gains in the review period.

On the contrary, NIC Asia Bank (NIC) reported the biggest drop of 67.75 percent in its net profit.
NIC Asia’s net profit fell to Rs 819.99m in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, down from Rs 2.54bn in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Agricultural Development Bank Ltd (62.66 percent), Rastriya Banijya Bank Ltd (40.09 percent) and Kumari Bank Ltd (31.98 percent) also reported a significant drop in their net profits.

Nabil Bank led the pack with a net profit of Rs 4.78bn over the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Global IME Bank (Rs 4.72bn) and Nepal Investment Mega Bank  (Rs 4.08bn) were the other banks with net profits in excess of Rs 4bn. 

Meanwhile, three commercial banks reported profit below Rs 1bn. Agricultural Development Bank reported the lowest net profit of Rs 738.03m, followed by NIC Asia Bank and Kumari Bank Ltd with net profits of Rs 819.99m and Rs 969.11m, respectively. Bankers say rising non-performing loan levels and declining investments have hit profitability of banks. 

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 1,700 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 184, 300 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 186, 000 per tola on Sunday.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 945 per tola today.