The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index declined for the third consecutive trading day on Thursday, closing lower as the market continued its recent downward momentum.

The benchmark index dropped by 5.73 points to settle at 2738.72. The Sensitive Index fell by 0.07 points, while the Float Index and Sensitive Float Index declined by 0.29 and 0.01 points respectively.

Trading volume also saw a slight decrease. A total of over NPR 4.91 billion worth of shares were traded across 346 stocks in 80,427 transactions, compared to NPR 4.98 billion on the previous day. More than 10.9 million shares were exchanged during the session.

Among gainers, Shrinagar Agritech Industries recorded the highest increase of 12.57%. Similarly, Shikhar Power Development and Asian Hydropower gained around 8%.

On the losing side, Corporate Development Bank saw the biggest drop of 10.38%.

In terms of turnover, Reliance Spinning Mills led the market with transactions worth over NPR 267 million. Ankhu Khola Hydropower Company and National Hydropower Company also recorded high trading volumes.

Out of 13 sub-indices, only 2 posted gains while 11 declined. Banking and manufacturing sectors showed slight improvement, whereas other sectors remained under pressure.