KATHMANDU: The stock market closed higher on Wednesday with the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index rising by 5.17 points to reach 2978.88.

Shares worth NPR 19.57 billion were traded, involving 44,866,159 units.

At market close, share prices of 98 companies increased, 152 companies declined, and no company’s share price remained unchanged.

Trading involved 319 companies with a total of 170,381 transactions.

Among the 13 sectors, 7 sectors showed gains while 6 sectors declined.

The Finance sector led the gains, increasing by 3.23%, whereas the Mutual Fund sector had the smallest rise at 0.15%.

The Hotel & Tourism sector fell the most, dropping by 1.10%, and the Commercial Bank sector had the smallest decline of 0.25%.