November 9: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index lost 11.85 points or 0.63%, closing at 1852.08 points on the last trading day before the festival of Tihar on Thursday.

The stock market's decline today is widely attributed to the imminent arrival of the Tihar festival, according to stock market analysts and investors.

Many investors are currently holding back as they eagerly await the upcoming review of the monetary policy and potential interest rate reductions on loans, which could have a significant impact on their investment decisions.

One investor succinctly said, "Investors are in a holding position, anticipating the results of the monetary policy review and hoping for favorable adjustments in interest rates for loans."

Investors say that market will reverse and catch the upward momentum only if  the polices on stock market and margin lending are relaxed.

During today's trading session, the stock market witnessed a total of 27,845 trades involving 282 different stocks. A total of 2,833,731 units of shares exchanged their hands, amounting to Rs. 83.60 crore.

Sonapur Minerals And Oil Limited (SONA) had the highest turnover of Rs 7.70 crores, closing at a market price of Rs 259 per share.

Among the various stocks, Sayapatri Hydropower Limited (SPHL) witnessed the highest gain of 6.96%. Conversely, Mountain Energy Nepal Limited (MEN) experienced the day's highest loss of 6.58%.

 All sector indexes closed in the red. The "Others Index" recorded the most substantial loss at 1.55%, while the "Trading Index" fared relatively better with the least loss of 0.14%.