Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index extended its losses for the second consecutive session on Thursday, slipping by 19.67 points to close at 2,601.92 — the lowest level since December 24 last year when the market closed at 2,585.77 points.
The benchmark index had shed 30.09 points on Wednesday.
The index moved into the negative territory right after trading began and dropped below the psychological support level of 2,600 points during intraday trading. However, a late recovery helped the market pare some losses and close just above the key threshold.
Market sentiment remained weak throughout the session, with a majority of stocks posting declines. Unit prices of a total of 229 stocks declined, while 42 gained and six remained unchanged. Total turnover slightly fell to Rs 4.61 billion, with 8.75 million units traded across 57,864 transactions.
Among individual stocks, Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha posted the biggest gain of 12.68%. Snow Rivers Ltd and 10.15% Prime Debenture 2084 followed with gains of 11.76% and 5.61%. On the other hand, BOK Debenture 2086 ‘Ka’ recorded the biggest loss of 8.66%. Salapa Bikas Bank Ltd and Three Star Hydropower Ltd were next with losses of 8.28% and 7.92%, respectively. Debenture units were at the top of turnover charts. Global IME Debenture 2086/87 logged the biggest turnover of Rs 355.89 billion. Next were 10.75% Siddhartha Debenture 2089 and BOK Debenture 2086 with turnovers of Rs 286.56 million and Rs 208.6 million, respectively.
All 13 trading sub-indices ended the session in the red. The Trading sub-index posted the biggest loss of 2.36%. Next were Manufacturing & Processing and Mutual Fund sub-indices with losses of 1.19% and 1.16%, respectively.
