July 18: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index continued its upward trend, gaining 59.68 points or 2.52%, to close at 2,424.32 on Thursday, the last trading day of the week. This significant rise was largely driven by a substantial increase in the Banking Index.

During today's trading session, a total of 312 scrips were traded through 184,712 transactions on NEPSE. A total of 39,938,237 units of shares were exchanged, resulting in a turnover of Rs 15.54 billion.

Nepal Finance Limited (NFS) led the turnover with transactions worth Rs 42 crore. Additionally, Nepal Investment Mega Bank Limited (NIMB), Nepal Finance Limited (NFS), Ankhu Khola Jalvidhyut Company Limited (AKJCL), Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (ULBSL), and Three Star Hydropower Limited (TSHL) each gained 10%, hitting the positive circuit for the day.

Conversely, Kumari Sabal Yojana (KSY) experienced the highest loss, dropping by 5.76%.

Regarding sector indices, all sectors closed in positive territory except for the Finance Index and Hydropower Index. The Banking Index saw the highest gain of 6.28%, while the Finance Index suffered a loss of 1.27%.