Market falls by double digit for second session as turnover declines

The stock market extended its decline for a second consecutive session on Thursday, with the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index falling 13.85 points to close at 2,531.35. On Wednesday, the market snapped a four-session winning streak ending lower by 15.43 points.

Trading turnover also declined on Thursday from the previous session. Total transactions stood at around NRs 4 billion on Thursday, compared with NRs 4.19 billion on Wednesday.

A total of 105.89 million shares of 341 listed securities changed hands during the session. Of the companies traded, 67 recorded gains, while 200 declined and 11 remained unchanged.

Liberty Energy led the gainers, with its share price rising 15% to NRs 246.10. Dolti Power was the second-biggest gainer, climbing 8.22% to NRs 299 per share.

Sindhu Bikash Bank suffered the steepest decline, falling 14.98% to NRs 359.70 per share and hitting the negative circuit limit. Prabhu Select Fund was the second-largest decliner, dropping 10.22% to Rs 10.89 per unit.

Liberty Energy was also the most actively traded company, with shares worth NRs 454.8 million changing hands. Reliance Spinning Mills followed with turnover of NRs 211.2 million, while NRN Infrastructure and Development recorded transactions worth NRs 191.1 million.

All 13 sectoral indices closed lower, weighing on the overall market. The Manufacturing and Processing sub-index posted the largest decline, falling 1.14%.

The broad-based decline across all sectoral groups pushed the index lower for a second straight day, while weaker turnover indicated reduced trading activity compared with the previous session.