KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 20

The Nepal Stock Exchange saw a slight downturn today, with a 1.76 point or 0.08% drop, settling at 2,033.06 points by the close of trading.

After a public holiday on Monday, following a loss of 27.21 points on Sunday, the market reopened on Tuesday but failed to rebound from the loss.

The sensitive index, evaluating Class 'A' stocks, also experienced a dip of 0.24%, while the float index, measuring actively traded shares, saw a decline of 0.15%.

However, there was some relief across various sectors that had previously suffered losses. The Other index led the gainers with a notable 1.10% increase. Similarly, the finance sector, which had been in decline, gained some traction with a 0.72% increase, followed by the manufacturing and processing sector with 0.71%. The development bank sector and investment sector also saw gains, with increases of 0.25% and 0.18%, respectively.

Despite the slight drop in the benchmark index, the intraday turnover decreased to Rs 3.1 billion, down from Sunday's Rs 3.7 billion. This was a result of 9,342,546 units of shares from 314 companies being traded in 76,803 transactions.

Today, out of the 240 companies, 90 advanced while 150 declined, with nine remaining unchanged. Notably, Bottlers Nepal (Balaju) Limited (BNL) and Samaj Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (SAMAJ) experienced a 10% positive circuit break in their share values, while GreenLife Hydropower Limited (GLH) saw a 10% drop.

Meanwhile, Himalayan Reinsurance Company maintained its position as the top company in terms of turnover (Rs 317,370,998.70) and transactions (9,087).

The total market capitalization stood at Rs 3.195 trillion.