The downbeat capital market failed to recover from the persistent pessimism pervading the trading floor as sell pressure continued to dominate the market amid subdued sentiment and rising tensions over the market outlook.
The key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) plunged further by 43.7 points and settled at 5,335 points against 5,379 points in the previous trading session.
Meanwhile, market participation remained sluggish, with total turnover further edging down by 0.4 per cent to Tk 367 crore, as against Tk 368 crore in the previous session.
Royal Capital, in its daily market commentary, said that the stock market dropped sharply because investors lost confidence. A sharp decline in the broad index after 12.30pm signalled a loss of investor confidence, and the market breadth also slipped gradually.
EBL Securities, another brokerage, in its daily market review, said that the investors shy away from taking fresh positions in equities while losses continued to mount on their already hampered portfolios.
Despite the indices showing slight resilience until mid-session riding on price appreciation of particular bank sector stocks, the subsequent selling spree eroded most of the early gains and dipped the market back to its prolonged bearish mode, the review states.
The blue-chip index, the DS30, and the Shariah-based index, the DSES, closed at 1,942.22 and 1,189.39 points, respectively. All the large-cap sectors posted negative performance on the day.
Engineering experienced the highest loss of 3.58 per cent. Block trades contributed 5.6 per of the overall market turnover. Midland Bank was the most traded share with a turnover of Tk 37 crore.
Of the 397 issues traded, 53 advanced, 286 declined, and 58 remained unchanged on the prime bourse.
Only one sector out of 19 was the gainer while the rest were on the losing side. ISLAMIBANK topped the turnover chart. DULAMIACOT was the top gainer, whereas NTC was the worst sufferer.
One stock was traded at the floor price. In the block market, shares of Tk 20.5 crore were transacted, representing a turnover of 5.59 per cent.
The SME index, the DSMEX, decreased by 39.09 points, and the market generated a Tk 3.5 crore turnover, a 28 per cent increase from the previous session.
According to the Royal Capital Financial Portal, ISLAMIBANK and BATBC contributed the most to the gains and the losses of the DSEX index on the day, and the bear took over the market control at 12.30am and onwards.
Meanwhile, the port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange, also settled on red terrain. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) fell by 88.1 and 154.5 points, respectively.
