The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) rose sharply on Thursday, closing higher on the final trading day of the week as both the benchmark index and turnover improved.

The NEPSE index climbed by 27.19 points to settle at 2,708.70 points, returning above the 2,700-point mark after four trading sessions. The index had slipped to 2,694.20 points on Magh 18 after falling by 19.85 points from its level on Magh 15.

Of the traded companies, share prices of 201 firms advanced, while 55 declined and four remained unchanged, reflecting a broadly positive market sentiment.

A total of 35.57 million shares were traded through 108,817 transactions, generating a turnover of Rs 11.58 billion. This represented a significant increase from Wednesday’s trading value of Rs 7.49 billion.

Among the sub-indices, all closed higher except the trading sub-index, which fell by 18.51 points. The non-life insurance sub-index recorded the strongest performance, rising by 218.92 points, followed by life insurance, which gained 143.85 points.