The NEPSE floorsheet: how to read broker activity without being fooled
Every trade on the exchange ends up in one list, and anyone can read it. The NEPSE floorsheet shows each trade of the day - the stock, the buying broker, the selling broker, the quantity, the price and the amount. Used well, it tells you who was active and at what price. Used badly, it makes ordinary trading look like a plot. This guide shows what each column means, six checks to run on any stock, and the traps that fool most readers.
What the floorsheet shows
Each row is one completed trade. You will see:
- Transaction number and time - the order in which trades happened.
- Stock - the symbol traded.
- Buyer and seller broker - a numeric code for each of the roughly 90 licensed brokers. The free broker list turns a code into a firm's name.
- Quantity, rate and amount - how many shares, at what price, and the total value.
What it does not show is the client. A broker code is a firm with thousands of customers, not one person. Keep that in mind through everything below. You can browse today's trades on the free NEPSE floorsheet page, and search it by stock or broker in the floorsheet explorer.
Check 1: the day's totals
Start with three numbers for one stock: total shares traded, total amount, and the number of trades. Divide the amount by the number of trades to get the average trade size. If a stock normally trades in small lots and today's average is several times larger, bigger players were in. If turnover is tiny, the price is being set by a handful of trades and means little.
Check 2: the volume-weighted price against the close
Add up every trade's amount and divide by the total shares: that is the day's weighted average price, the price at which most of the money actually changed hands. Compare it with the closing price. If the close is far above the weighted price, the last few trades pushed the price up and most buyers paid less. If the two are close, the close is an honest summary of the day.
Check 3: who bought and who sold - net, not gross
Rank brokers by shares bought and by shares sold. Then do the step most people skip: subtract each broker's sales from its purchases to get the net position. Here is an invented example for one stock on one day, 20,000 shares in total:
| Broker | Bought | Sold | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broker A | 5,000 | 4,200 | +800 |
| Broker B | 3,000 | 300 | +2,700 |
| Broker C | 2,000 | 1,900 | +100 |
Broker A looks like the biggest buyer, with a quarter of the day's volume. But it also sold 4,200 shares, so its real net buying was only 800. Broker B bought less but kept almost all of it. Every share bought was sold by someone, so total buying always equals total selling; only the net per broker tells you who is accumulating and who is distributing.
Check 4: how concentrated was the trade?
Add up the share of the top three buying brokers and the top three selling brokers. If a few codes are on one side of most of the volume, a small group is steering the price. If hundreds of trades are spread across many brokers on both sides, the market is broad. Concentration is normal in thinly traded stocks and in small trades; it is worth a closer look when a stock suddenly becomes concentrated while its price is rising. Our study of how much the top 10 brokers handle shows what is normal for the whole market.
Check 5: the same broker on both sides
Sometimes a broker appears as both buyer and seller in the same trade. That is a cross trade, and it is usually innocent: a large broker has thousands of clients, and two of them may well want opposite sides at the same price. It becomes a red flag only if it is persistent - the same codes trading back and forth day after day, with volume rising and no news. That pattern is explained in what circular trading is and how fake volume is made. One cross trade proves nothing.
Check 6: trade size and timing
Scroll the list in time order. A few things are worth noticing:
- One very large trade sets a price for everyone but can be a single negotiated sale, not a trend.
- Many tiny trades in a row at slowly rising prices can be one buyer working an order patiently - or someone painting the tape.
- A burst in the last minutes can decide the closing price. Closing prices feed into valuations and into the next day's circuit limits, so a late rush deserves a second look. See NEPSE trading hours for when money normally moves.
The traps that fool most readers
- "A big broker is buying" means little. Big brokers have the most clients, so they appear everywhere, on both sides. When we tested whether stocks that top brokers bought up then did better, the edge over a coin toss was slight - see do big brokers know first?
- One day is noise. Look at five or ten sessions before drawing a conclusion.
- Volume is not demand. Heavy volume with a flat price can be a fight between buyers and sellers, not a rise coming.
- You cannot see the client. The floorsheet can show a pattern; it can never prove who is behind it or why.
A simple routine
Before you buy a stock you like, open its floorsheet for the last five sessions. Note the average trade size, whether the close sat near the weighted price, the net position of the top three buyers and sellers, and whether the same codes keep appearing on both sides. If nothing odd shows, you have lost nothing but five minutes; if something does, you have avoided a trap. Pair it with a check on how easily you could sell - our guide to NEPSE liquidity explains how.
Inside the MacroLens NP desk, the floorsheet tools show each broker's share of any stock, net positions over time and the broker scorecard in one place. Start your free 7-day trial, or sign in if you already have an account.
Quick answers
Can I see which person bought? No. The floorsheet shows broker codes only, never client names.
Is the floorsheet free? Today's trades are on the free floorsheet page; the deeper broker tools are inside the desk.
Does heavy buying by one broker mean the price will rise? Not on its own. Check net buying across several days, and remember that one firm's clients are not one investor.
This guide is for education, not investment advice. The example table uses invented numbers.
Source: MacroLens NP analysis of NEPSE data. Cover photo: public domain.
