Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index declined sharply on Tuesday, falling 46.78 points to close at 2,796.57 points.
With the latest decline, the index slipped below the psychological support level of 2,800 points, signalling a cooling of the strong rally witnessed earlier this week.
The market had surged dramatically on Sunday after investors turned optimistic following the landslide victory of the newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in the parliamentary elections. The benchmark index had gained a whopping 162.93 points in a single session amid expectations that the election outcome would bring greater political stability to the country. Multiple circuit breakers were tripped during the session, and trading was possible for only a few minutes.
However, the initial euphoria appears to be fading as investors booked profits over the past two sessions. Unit prices of 225 companies declined during the session, while 34 advanced and three remained unchanged. A total of 36.04 million units worth Rs 13.18 billion through 115,550 transactions.
Daily turnover had hit a near seven-month high of Rs 21.5 billion on Tuesday.
Ridi Power Company Ltd topped the turnover chart with Rs 859.45 million worth of shares traded. Next were Ankhu Khola Jalavidyut Company Ltd and National Hydropower Company Ltd, with turnovers of Rs 512.98 million and Rs 495.72 million worth of shares traded, respectively.
Except for Mutual Fund sub-indices, which posted a negligible gain, all trading groups ended the session in the red. The Trading sub-index suffered the biggest loss of 3.4%. Next were Finance and Life Insurance sub-indices with losses of 2.08% and 1.98%, respectively.
