KATHMANDU: Stock market witnessed a sharp downturn on Tuesday, with the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index falling by 41.35 points to close at 2,834.

This decline came despite the index briefly surging to 2,905 points within the first 12 minutes of trading. The market, however, failed to sustain the early momentum and remained in the red throughout the session.

Market turnover also contracted, dropping to Rs 9.33 billion compared to Rs 10.82 billion recorded on Monday. Out of the traded companies, share prices of 46 increased, while 204 saw declines, indicating widespread selling pressure.

Most sectoral indices ended in negative territory.

Development Banks witnessed the steepest fall of 2.55%, followed by Others at 2.83%, Investment at 1.80%, Finance at 1.68%, Manufacturing & Processing at 1.61%, Hydropower at 1.59%, Life Insurance at 1.47%, Non-Life Insurance at 1.27%, Trading at 1.62%, Banking at 1.04%, and Hotels & Tourism at 0.84%. Microfinance was the only sector to post gains, edging up by 0.50%.

Among the day’s top gainers, Samaj Laghubitta and Unnati Sahakarya Laghubitta saw their share prices surge by the daily limit of 10%. Vin Nepal Laghubitta rose by 4.64%, while Srijanshil Laghubitta gained 4.22%.

Conversely, Three Star Hydropower suffered a 10% plunge, making it the biggest loser of the day. Trade Tower declined by 7.35%, Lumbini Development Bank by 5.40%, and Upper Solu Hydroelectric Company by 4.80%.

In terms of transaction volume, Himalayan Reinsurance, Trade Tower, Shivam Cement, Butwal Power, and Ngadi Group were among the most actively traded stocks of the session.

The continuous decline, after a brief rebound on Monday, has raised concerns among investors, with market sentiment appearing bearish amid falling turnover and broad-based losses across key sectors.