KATHMANDU, April 13 -- On the last trading day of the year, the equity market advanced since the morning trading session. The benchmark Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index rose almost 19 points by mid-day before correcting slightly. However, a steady rise in the latter trading hours pushed the index 23.23 points to settle at 2714.79.

With the day's advance, the index has stretched its gains for second straight sessions. Consequently, the index also marked its all-time high at 2714 point's mark on the last trading day of the year. Investors have largely maintained a positive bias in the equity market. Over Rs. 7.14 billion worth of securities were traded on Tuesday.

Development Bank, Banking, Trading and Hydropower sub-indices rallied 3.4...