The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) continued its downward trend on Thursday, losing 18.40 points to close at 2,487.17, down 0.73 percent from the previous day.

Out of the traded companies, share prices of 45 increased, 197 declined, and 9 remained unchanged, leading to a broad-based drop across the market.

The day recorded 36,531 transactions, with 7.64 million shares changing hands, worth Rs3.27 billion in total. On Wednesday, Nepse had logged Rs3.10 billion in turnover from 7.61 million shares traded in 35,750 transactions.

Among the 13 trading sub-indices, only the banking and mutual fund groups posted minor gains, while all other sectors ended in the red, dragging the benchmark index below the 2,500 mark for the first time in weeks.