KATHMANDU, MAY 12 The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index declined by 39.44 points, or 1.41 percent, on Tuesday to close at 2,744.40 points, reversing gains from the previous session. The downturn comes in contrast to Monday's trading, when the benchmark index had risen by 38.19 points. Alongside the benchmark, the sensitive index, which tracks Class 'A' stocks, dropped by 1.08 percent, while the float index, measuring actively traded shares, fell by 1.35 percent. All sectoral indices ended in negative territory except the mutual fund sector, which posted a marginal gain of 0.19 percent. Among the losers, the trading sector recorded the highest decline of 2.33 percent, followed by hydropower (2.22 percent), finance (2.03 percent), and hotels and tourism (2.02 percent). In individual stock performance, only 13 scrips advanced, while 251 declined and five remained unchanged. Dhaulagiri Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the sole company to hit the positive circuit limit of 15 percent. The market posted a total turnover of Rs 4.65 billion, a slight increase from Rs 4.61 billion in the previous session. A total of 10,678,550 shares were traded through 62,512 transactions involving 338 scrips.