Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index closed almost unchanged on Thursday, slipping just 0.93 points on the final trading day of the week.
The benchmark plunged to an intra-day low of 2,550.12 points early in the session, only to rebound sharply and touch an intra-day high of 2,563.93 points. By the close, the index pared all its gains and ended the session marginally in the red.
Market breadth remained negative on Wednesday. Prices of 138 stocks declined, while 112 advanced and six remained unchanged. Total turnover, however, surged to Rs 4.68 billion, the highest since November 6, with 10.44 million shares traded across 66,079 transactions.
Sahas Urja topped the turnover chart with Rs 418.08 million worth of shares traded. Saptakoshi Development Bank Ltd and Nepal Reinsurance Company Ltd followed with turnovers of Rs 169.33 million and Rs 126.98 million, respectively.
Sectoral indices delivered mixed performance, as six sub-indices closed higher and seven declined. Hotels & Tourism topped the gainers with a 1.16% rise. The Finance sub-index, on the other hand, recorded the steepest decline at 0.71%.
