Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) extended its winning run into a third straight session on Thursday, closing 7.5 points higher at 2,597.80.
The benchmark index pared most of its gains and remained in the negative territory for much of the session after hitting an intraday high of 2,606.89 points during the first trading hour. After falling to an intraday low of 2,581.33 points in the final trading hour, however, the index recovered and closed the session in the green.
Although the index breached the psychological 2,600-point level during intraday trading, it failed to sustain the gain and slipped back below it. Unit prices of 121 scrips advanced during the session, while 151 declined and three remained unchanged. Total turnover increased slightly to Rs 4.56 billion, with 9.46 million units traded across 39,595 transactions.
Among individual stocks, NIBL Growth Fund posted the biggest gain of 14.96%. First Microfinance Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd and Chirkhuwa Khola Hydropower Ltd followed with gains of 14.67% and 14.34%, respectively. On the other hand, Corporate Development Bank logged the biggest loss of 8.77%. Meanwhile, Singati Hydro Energy Ltd topped the turnover chart with transactions worth Rs 247.42 million. It was followed by 8.5% Sanima Debenture 2087 and NRN Infrastructure & Development, with turnovers of Rs 230 million and Rs 227.99 million, respectively.
Nine trading groups posted gains on Thursday, while the remaining four ended the session in the red. The Mutual Fund sub-index posted the biggest gain of 1.66%, while the Finance sub-index logged the biggest loss of 0.66%.
