KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index witnessed a significant decline today, dropping by 22.35 points to settle at 2,684.01.

A total of 311 companies saw transactions involving 19,415,688 shares through 71,313 trades, resulting in a total turnover of NPR 8.37 billion (NPR 8,377,327,147).

Among the sectoral indices, only the Hotels & Tourism sector and Mutual Funds saw gains of 0.61% and 0.07% respectively. All other sectors experienced declines. The Banking sector fell by 0.79%, Development Banks by 0.81%, Finance by 3.76%, Hydropower by 1.02%, and Investment by 0.76%. Similarly, Life Insurance dropped by 0.93%, Manufacturing & Processing by 1.24%, Microfinance by 0.70%, Non-Life Insurance by 0.66%, Trading by 1.25%, and the others sector by 0.15%.

The top gainer of the day was Mailung Khola Jalvidhyut Limited, with its share price increasing by 6.56%. On the other hand, Rapti Hydro and General Construction Limited faced a negative circuit break, making it the biggest loser.

In terms of transaction value, Nepal Reinsurance Company Limited led the market with trades worth NPR 807,056,451. Meanwhile, Prabhu Select Fund recorded the highest trading volume, with 2,119,817 units of its shares changing hands.