KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index rose by 1.52 points on Wednesday. With a marginal gain of 0.05 percent compared to the previous trading day, the benchmark index closed at 2,641.43 points.

Earlier, NEPSE had gained 4.90 points on Tuesday, while it had declined by 5.54 points on Monday. Trading was closed on Sunday due to Prithvi Jayanti.

On Wednesday, the Sensitive Index declined by 0.13 points to settle at 454.73 points, down by 0.02 percent compared to the previous trading session.

A total of 12,504,970 shares of 320 companies were traded through 72,671 transactions during the day. The total turnover stood at Rs 6.20 billion.

By comparison, NEPSE recorded a turnover of Rs 6.99 billion on Tuesday and Rs 6.47 billion on Monday. There was no trading on Sunday.

Out of 13 traded sub-indices, share prices of eight groups increased while five declined. The commercial banking sub-index fell by 0.08 percent. Development banks rose by 0.01 percent, finance by 2.55 percent, hotels and tourism by 0.31 percent, hydropower by 0.07 percent, and investment by 0.11 percent. Meanwhile, life insurance declined by 0.01 percent, manufacturing and processing by 0.41 percent, and microfinance by 0.05 percent.

Similarly, the mutual fund sub-index increased by 0.08 percent and non-life insurance by 0.38 percent. The others group declined by 0.13 percent, while the trading group gained 0.67 percent.

On Wednesday, share prices of 125 companies increased, 124 declined, and 11 remained unchanged.

Super Madi Hydropower Limited emerged as the top gainer, with its share price rising by 9.94 percent. The company’s closing price stood at Rs 595 per share.

On the losing side, investors in ICFC debenture recorded the highest loss, with the price declining by 3.30 percent. Its closing price stood at Rs 1,141 per unit.

As in the previous session, Radhi Bidyut Company Limited recorded the highest turnover on Wednesday, with shares worth Rs 262.4 million traded. The company had also led turnover on Tuesday with transactions worth Rs 546.56 million. Radhi Bidyut’s closing share price on Wednesday was Rs 802.