The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index fell on Wednesday, ending a five-session rally. The benchmark declined by 24.45 points, or 0.82 percent, closing at 2,935.94.

The decline followed the surge of more than 161 points over the past five sessions and 247 points in 11 days. In the previous session, the index closed at 2,960.40.

Turnover rose slightly to Rs 15.09 billion from Rs 14.83 billion a day earlier, indicating active trading despite the correction.

The index opened at 2,964.68, hitting an intraday high of 2,969.50 and a low of 2,929.44. A total of 35.8 million shares of 345 companies were traded through 138,256 transactions.

During the session, the pre-open gained 4.27 points. Selling pressure dominated most of the day, although buyers attempted a brief recovery at around 1:05 pm before sellers regained control after 2:13 pm.

Market analyst Ramesh Kafle described the decline as a normal correction. “Given the recent sharp gains, a fall of around 24 points is negligible,” he said.

He said the market could rebound in the coming days if it holds above the 2,900 support level, though a slower recovery is also possible.

From a technical perspective, Kafle said the session formed a bearish engulfing candlestick with rising turnover, signalling a correction. He added that heavyweight sectors such as banking and hydropower faced resistance, pointing to a near-term negative outlook.

However, he noted that positive political developments could support a recovery in the coming days.

Of the 13 sub-indices, only two ended with gains. The trading sub-index rose the most, gaining 3.45 percent, while the development bank sub-index fell the most, down 2.32 percent.

Manufacturing and processing increased by 0.48 percent. Other sectors declined, including finance (2.09 percent), others (1.70 percent), microfinance (1.64 percent), banking (1.40 percent), life insurance (1.39 percent), non-life insurance (1.15 percent), investment (0.53 percent), mutual funds (0.34 percent), hydropower (0.16 percent), and hotels and tourism (0.05 percent).

Ngadi Group Power led turnover, with transactions worth over Rs 524 million, closing at Rs 484.

Five stocks—Reliance Spinning Mills Limited (RSML), Super Khudi Hydropower Limited (SKHL), Solu Hydropower Limited (SOHL), Bhujung Hydropower Limited (BJHL) and Hotel Forest Inn Limited (HFIN)—hit the upper circuit. They closed at Rs 1830.10, Rs 330, Rs 642.90, Rs 395.30 and Rs 239, respectively.

Aviyan Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (AVYAN) posted the biggest loss, dropping 7.74 percent to close at Rs 1,260.