The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index dropped for the fifth consecutive session on Thursday, March 20, by 12.84 points, or 0.47%, to close the week at 2,669.31. 

The index had dropped 0.79% Sunday, 0.37% Monday, 0.28% Tuesday, and 0.55% Wednesday. 

Last Wednesday saw a brief respite when the index rose 0.63%, snapping a seven-day losing streak that had erased 171.06 points. The downturn followed a nine-day rally that had lifted the market by 211.78 points.

Trading activity, too, dropped on the week’s last trading day with turnover remaining just above Rs 4.56 billion, down from over Rs 5.14 billion in the previous session. 

More than 9.5 million shares changed hands across 55,476 transactions.

All three major indices closed lower. The Sensitive Index fell 0.49%, the Float Index dropped 0.51%, and the Sensitive Float Index declined 0.47%.

Among individual stocks, Dolti Power Company Limited (DOLTI) led the gainers, rising 6.90% to Rs 728 per unit, while Mithila LaghuBitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (MLBBL) and Bhugol Energy Development Company Limited (BEDC) hit lower circuit limits, making them the session’s worst performers.

The last traded prices, determined from Thursday onwards on the basis of weighted average price of shares traded in the last 15 minutes of the session, of MLBBL and BEDC were Rs 1,782  and Rs 853.2 per unit, respectively. 

Nepal Reinsurance Company Limited (NRIC) recorded the highest turnover, followed by Himalayan Reinsurance Limited (HRL) and Bhugol Energy Development Company Limited (BEDC). 

Of the 13 sectoral indices, only the Trading Index ended in positive territory (+0.25%), while the Finance Index saw the steepest drop (-1.26%).