NEPSE falls 8.30 points after two-day gain

The stock market closed lower on Friday, with the NEPSE Index declining 8.30 points (0.31%) to 2,653.40, reversing gains from the previous two trading sessions as banking stocks led the losses.

Trading activity, however, strengthened, with daily turnover rising to NRs 4.41 billion, up from NRs 4.11 billion a day earlier. A total of 8.58 million shares of 345 listed securities changed hands during the session.

Market sentiment remained weak, with 160 companies ending in the red, 103 posting gains and 14 closing unchanged.

The banking sub-index recorded the sharpest decline among sectoral indices, falling 0.96%. Hotel and tourism (-0.38%), investment (-0.62%), life insurance (-0.71%), non-life insurance (-0.02%), manufacturing and processing (-0.44%) and the "others" sub-index (-0.13%) also finished lower.

Five of the market’s 13 sectoral indices advanced, led by the finance sub-index, which climbed 1.06%. Hydropower gained 0.16%, microfinance rose 0.15%, while the trading sector added 0.52%.

Three hydropower companies, all recently listed: Sanigad Hydro, Snow Rivers and Kalanga Hydro hit the daily positive circuit limit, each gaining around 15%. Nepal Finance also surged nearly 15%, while Khanikhola Hydropower advanced 11.63%.

Upper Lohore Khola Hydropower posted the day's steepest decline, falling 13.65%. Dhaulagiri Laghubitta dropped 11.21%, while Crest Micro Life Insurance lost 4.97%.

The session highlighted mixed investor sentiment, with selective buying in finance and hydropower stocks offset by broad-based weakness in banking and insurance shares.