DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), shattered into red terrain on Monday for the sixth consecutive session and sank below the 5,400 mark after three years.
The key index declined further by 37.6 points and settled at 5,394 points at the end of trading, down from the previous session’s 5,431 points.
Market insiders said that nervy investors shy away from taking positions in equities and continued to trim their exposure to capital market investments to escape further losses owing to the prolonged subdued market sentiment with no sign of revival yet.
The market witnessed daylong volatility while sellers continued their dominance across the trading floor, which led the majority of scrips to extend their correction mode while many remained stuck at the revised lower circuit without having sufficient buyers, said EBL Securities in its daily market review.
Meanwhile, investors’ participation remained stagnant with market turnover slightly increasing to Tk 561 crore, up from the previous session’s Tk 410 crore.
The blue-chip index DS30, the Shariah-based index DSES and the large-cap index CDSET fell by 0.49 per cent, 0.91 per cent and 0.47 per cent to close at 1,938.88, 1,180.76 and 1,018.44 points, respectively. All the large-cap sectors posted negative performance on Monday.
On the sectoral front, Pharma (27.0 per cent) issues exerted the highest turnover, followed by Food (13.3 per cent) and Textile (12.3 per cent) sectors.
Almost all the sectors displayed dismal returns, out of which Services (-2.3 per cent), Financial Institutions (-2.1 per cent) and Engineering (-2.0 per cent) exerted the most corrections on the bourse on the day.
Of the 396 issues traded, 82 advanced, 276 declined and 38 remained unchanged at the Dhaka bourse.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also settled on red terrain on Monday. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) lost 79.2 points and 132.1 points, respectively.
