KATHMANDU, JULY 18

Continuing its upward momentum, the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) crossed the 2,400-point threshold on Thursday after gaining 59.68 points or 2.52%, settling at 2,424.32 points by the end of the trading day.

The daily intraday turnover also saw a significant increase, reaching Rs 15.5 billion from the exchange of 39,938,237 units of shares of 312 companies in 184,712 transactions. This marks another surge in daily turnover, up from Wednesday's Rs 12 billion.

As the benchmark index surged, the sensitive index, which evaluates class 'A' stocks, rose by 3.90%, while the float index, which gauges actively traded shares, increased by 2.88%.

Today's market was predominantly positive, with the exception of the finance and hydropower sectors. The finance sector, which recorded a massive 5.50% gain on Wednesday, declined today, while the hydropower sector, despite being a leader in gains on Tuesday, declined to 1.71% on Wednesday and further into negative territory today.

All other sectors recorded gains, with the banking sector leading the surge with a 6.28% increase. The microfinance sector gained 2.77%, the development bank sector rose by 1.31%, and the life insurance sector increased by 1.29%.

In terms of individual stocks, 143 companies advanced, 95 companies declined, and five remained unchanged. Notably, five companies - Nepal Investment Mega Bank Limited (NIMB), Nepal Finance Ltd. (NFS), Ankhu Khola JalVidyut Company Ltd (AKJCL), Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (ULBSL), and Three Star Hydropower Ltd (TSHL) - recorded a 10% gain.

The total market capitalization stood at Rs 3.846 trillion.