KATHMANDU, Sept. 15 -- The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index opened slightly higher in the morning but dipped firmly within the first trading hour. The benchmark was down by around 25 points at mid-day with further selling pressure dragging the index lower in the latter trading hours. At the close, Nepse stood at 2,889.03 - down 40.26 points against the session earlier.

With the index's dip, market participation has also fell notably of late. With two back to back sessions with turnovers of below Rs. 6 billion, enthusiasm among investors seem firmly subdued. With the beginning of budget holiday, investors are also concerned about the possibility of decrease in liquidity. Besides, few BFIs are also on the verge of increasing their intere...