Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index snapped an eight-day gaining streak, closing trading 18.44 points lower at 2,964.20 points on Sunday, the first trading day of the week.
Although the benchmark index breached the psychological 3,000-point threshold twice during the session, reaching an intra-day high of 3,013.18 points, it failed to keep the momentum and ultimately closed the session 0.61% lower.
Despite the loss, total turnover rose to Rs 26.57 billion, the highest since August 18 last year, when the bourse recorded total turnover of Rs 28.27 billion. A total of 58.65 million units of securities were traded on the bourse through 203,658 transactions on Sunday.
Market analysts have termed Sunday’s loss a natural phenomenon of market correction as investors booked profit after eight straight days of gains.
Unit prices of 186 companies declined during the session, while 63 advanced. Shivam Cement topped the turnover chart with Rs 1.02 billion worth of shares traded. Ngadi Group Power Ltd and Nepal Reinsurance Company Ltd were next with turnovers of Rs 889.06 million and Rs 850.21 million.
Only five sectoral indices posted gains, while the remaining eight ended the session in the red. The biggest gain came from the Trading sub-index, which was up by 1.44%. Similarly, the biggest loss came from the Finance sub-index, which was down by 1.99%.
