Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index surged by 17.44 points to 2,693.06 on Wednesday.
The benchmark index was close to breaching the psychological 2,600-point level during the session. However, it lost momentum toward the close and erased some gains.
Total turnover rose to Rs 8.59 billion, up from Rs 6.43 billion in the previous session. A total of 20.76 million units were traded through 77,316 transactions on Wednesday.
Share prices of 148 companies advanced during the session, while 97 decline and two remaining unchanged. Ngadi Group Power Ltd topped the turnover chart with Rs 1.05 billion worth of shares traded. Radhi Bidyut Company Ltd and Universal Power Company Ltd followed with turnovers of Rs 600.87 million and Rs 510.67 million, respectively.
The banking sector led the gains, with the Banking sub-index rising by an impressive 1.88%. Nine trading groups posted gains during the session, while four ended in the red.
