KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 18

Nepal's stock market suffered a full-day shutdown Thursday after a steep sell-off triggered three successive circuit breakers, forcing the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) to halt trading for the rest of the session.

The benchmark index plunged 6 percent from the opening bell, dropping 160.33 points to 2,511.91 before the final halt at 12:04 p.m. Daily turnover reached Rs 728.7 million with 1,752,781 shares traded when the market closed.

The turbulence began just two minutes after opening, when a 4 percent slide set off the first 20-minute circuit break. Trading resumed but again slumped, prompting a second break at 11:23 a.m. and a 40-minute pause. After the market reopened, the index fell past the 6-percent threshold, automatically suspending trading for the day under NEPSE rules.

Today marked the last trading day of the week, with the exchange set to reopen next week. The market had only resumed regular operations this morning after remaining closed for a week following the September 23–24 Gen Z protests, during which the Securities Board ordered a halt in trading.

According to NEPSE regulations, a 20-minute pause follows a 4-percent movement within an hour, a 40-minute halt follows a 5-percent move within two hours, and a full-day closure is triggered if the index swings 6 percent or more at any time. Banking, investment, and other major sectors each lost more than 5 percent during the session.

The index had last closed at 2,672.25 points on September 8, underscoring the market's sharp volatility since trading resumed.