Kathmandu, May 16 -- The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a decline this week as investor sentiment remained weak amid political uncertainty and recent high-profile arrests.

The benchmark index closed at 2,731.94 points on Thursday, down 13.71 points or 0.50 percent from last week's close of 2,745.65.

The Sensitive Index, which tracks blue-chip stocks, posted a marginal gain of 0.05 percent, while the Float Index declined 0.42 percent.

Investor wealth shrank by Rs23 billion over the five trading days. Total market capitalisation fell from Rs4.682 trillion last week to Rs4.659 trillion this week.

Analysts said the decline reflected cautious market sentiment, with investors moving away from high-cap sectors such as hydropower and ...