Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) Index shed 31.50 points to settle at 2,922.63 points on Thursday, the last trading day of the week.
Although the index opened in the green and posted early gains, it lost momentum as the session progressed and eventually ended the session 1.06% lower.
Unit prices of 198 scrips declined during the session, while only 52 recorded gains, reflecting selling pressure on the bourse.
Total turnover dropped to Rs 15.98 billion compared to the previous session, with 36.87 million shares traded across 168,594 transactions. Himalayan Reinsurance Ltd led the turnover chart with transactions worth Rs 1.33 billion. Nepal Reinsurance Company Ltd and Himalayan Distillery Ltd followed with turnovers of Rs 753.51 million and Rs 690.95 million, respectively.
Sectoral indices mostly ended lower. The Finance sub-indices bucked the trend with a gain of 1.18%. However, all other sectors closed in the red. The biggest loss came from the Trading sub-index, which fell by 2.44%. Banking and Investment sub-indices were next, losing 1.44% and 1.32%, respectively.
Market analysts have attributed the decline to profit-booking by investors after a long spell of gains.
