KATHMANDU, JANUARY 18 The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index climbed by 31.12 points, or 1.17 per cent, on Sunday, closing at 2,672.55 points, driven largely by a strong rally in the finance sector. The benchmark index's rise was reflected across key sub-indices. The Sensitive Index, which tracks Class 'A' stocks, advanced by 1.03 per cent, while the Float Index, measuring actively traded shares, increased by 1.33 per cent. Sector-wise, all groups ended the session in positive territory. The Finance sector led the market with a sharp gain of 5.73 per cent. The Development Bank sector followed with a rise of 3.03 per cent, while Manufacturing and Processing increased by 2.42 per cent. Hotels and Tourism gained 2.02 per cent, Life Insurance rose by 1.31 per cent and Microfinance advanced 1.25 per cent. Other sectors posted modest gains of less than one per cent. Daily turnover stood at Rs 8.40 billion, with 16,611,479 units of shares of 338 companies traded through 95,445 transactions. In individual stock movements, 224 scrips advanced, 31 declined and five remained unchanged. Four companies hit the positive circuit of 10 per cent: Sagar Distillery Limited (SAGAR), Unnati Sahakarya Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (USLB), Shreenagar Agritech Industries Limited (SAIL), and Gurkhas Finance Ltd. (GUFL). By the end of the trading day, total market capitalisation reached Rs 4.487 trillion.