The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) Index posted a marginal gain of 5.17 points on Wednesday, closing at 2,978.88, as profit-taking pressure weighed on the market following six consecutive sessions of strong gains.

Throughout most of the trading session, the index remained in negative territory, before a late buying push in select companies helped Nepse close slightly higher. Of the traded companies, 98 posted gains while 152 declined.

The day's turnover stood at Rs19.57 billion, lower than Tuesday’s Rs20 billion. A total of 44.86 million shares changed hands in 170,318 transactions.

Among the 13 traded sub-indices, six—including banking, development banks, hotels & tourism, life insurance, non-life insurance, and microfinance—closed lower. The rest posted modest gains, helping lift the overall index into the green.

Investors appeared cautious, seeking to secure profits after the recent rally that had pushed Nepse close to the 3,000-point threshold.