Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index fell below the psychological 2,600-point level on Sunday, closing 12.5 points lower at 2,594.87 points.
This marked the third consecutive session of losses and the first close below 2,600 points since November 20, when the market had closed trading at 2,560.29 points.
The benchmark index opened on a positive note and advanced to an intraday high of around 2,614 points. However, the index pared all the gains as the session progressed, pulling the market into negative territory by the close.
Unit prices of 197 scrips declined, while only 56 advanced and six remained unchanged.
Despite the decline in the index, total turnover improved marginally to Rs 4 billion. A total of 11.27 million units were traded through 60,699 transactions during the session.
Kumari Bank Ltd (Promoter Shares) led the turnover chart, recording transactions worth Rs 261.85 million. Ngadi Group Power Ltd and Shivam Cement followed with turnovers of Rs 188.7 million and Rs 78.93 million, respectively.
On the sectoral front, 11 sub-indices closed in the red, reflecting broad-based weakness. Mutual Funds posted the highest gain of 0.51 percent, while the Hotels and Tourism sub-index suffered the sharpest loss, falling 0.88 percent.
Overall, the session highlighted continued bearish sentiment, despite a modest improvement in trading activity.
