Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index gained 54.51 points to close trading at 2,931.55 points on Sunday, the first trading session of the week.
This marked the highest close since August 30 last year, when the Nepse index closed trading at 2,954.14 points.
The Nepse index crossed the psychological support level of 2,900 points early in trading. Although the index pared some gains, it moved back into positive territory and maintained strong momentum throughout the session, hitting an intraday high of 2,938.9. The index lost some gains towards the close but ultimately ended the session up 1.89%.
With this, Nepse extended its winning streak for a third straight session. Over the period, the benchmark index has gained 132.72 points.
Unit prices of 183 scrips advanced during the session, while 73 declined and eight remained unchanged. Total turnover climbed to Rs 23.59 million with 61.4 million units traded.
Among gainers, six stocks hit the positive circuit of 10%, while prices of three others went up by over 9%, reflecting buying pressure on the bourse.
Kumari Bank Ltd topped the turnover chart with Rs 859.61 million worth of shares traded. National Hydropower Company Ltd and Shivam Cement Ltd followed with turnovers of Rs 778.77 million and Rs 752.67 million, respectively.
Except for the Trading sub-index, which posted a nominal loss of 0.11%, all trading groups ended the session in the green. The biggest gain came from the Microfinance sub-index, which closed 4.21% higher. Hotels & Tourism and Non-Life Insurance sub-indices were next with gains of 3.05% and 2.72%, respectively.
