Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) closed lower on Thursday, slipping below the psychological support level of 2,600 points.
After opening on a positive note, the benchmark index gradually lost momentum and ended the session down by 1.29 points, or 0.43%, at 2,596.12.
Despite the decline, trading activity picked up slightly, with total turnover rising to Rs 5.41 billion. A total of 10.86 million shares were traded across 50,437 transactions during the session.
Out of the traded companies, prices of 165 scrips declined, 77 advanced, and nine remained unchanged. Shivam Cement Limited led the market in turnover with Rs 309.13 million worth of shares traded. Next were Radhi Bidyut Company Limited and Himalayan Distillery Limited, which recorded turnovers of Rs 307.69 million and Rs 278.51 million, respectively.
Among the 13 trading groups, only two posted gains while the remaining 11 closed in negative territory. The Non-life Insurance group suffered the sharpest fall, losing 0.99%, followed by the Hydropower and Others sub-indices, which declined by 0.68% and 0.62%, respectively.
