KATHMANDU: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) closed lower on Thursday, the final trading day of the week, falling by 4.45 points (0.17%) to settle at 2,595.74.

Despite the index decline, market activity improved significantly, with a total turnover of Rs. 7.78 billion recorded from the trading of 19.65 million shares.

A total of 306 companies were traded through 74,239 transactions. By the market close, share prices of 93 companies had increased, 155 had declined, and none remained unchanged.

Out of 13 sectoral indices, 4 sectors posted gains while 9 sectors declined. Development banks led the gainers with a 1% rise, while mutual funds saw the smallest increase at just 0.05%. On the downside, the hotel and tourism sector suffered the largest drop, falling by 1.87%, followed by a marginal 0.12% decline in the development bank index, despite its overall weekly gain.

The mixed performance across sectors reflects cautious investor sentiment as the market heads into the next week.