Special Correspondent
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka bourse, on Wednesday declined by 10.8 points to settle at 5,192 points as against 5,203 points in the previous trading session.
Meanwhile, market turnover also decreased by 28.7% to Tk 427 crore as against Tk 599 crore in the previous session.
Market insiders said that the capital bourse succumbed to profit booking pressure as investors' portfolio rebalancing continues, which led the benchmark index to close in negative territory for two consecutive sessions.
On the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) blue-chip index DS30 (-0.49%), the Shariah-based index DSES (-0.20%), and the large-cap index CDSET (-0.20%) closed at 1,913.08, 1,157.93, and 1,052.15 points, respectively.
All the large-cap sectors posted negative performance today. NBFI experienced the highest loss of 0.83% followed by Food & Allied (-0.72%), Bank (-0.52%), Engineering (-0.37%), Telecommunication (-0.26%), Pharmaceutical (-0.19%), and Fuel & Power (-0.11%), respectively.
Block trades contributed 5.5% of the overall market turnover. Midland Bank Limited (-9.1%) was the most traded share with a turnover of Tk 22 crore.
Out of the 397 issues traded, 102 advanced, 225 declined, and 70 remained unchanged on the Dhaka bourse.
In its daily market commentary, the EBL Securities said that the market remained downbeat throughout the session as cautious investors aimed to secure their short-term gains, with the market's momentum weakening amid mild volatility due to profit-booking pressure following recent gains.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also settled on red terrain. The Selective Categories' Index (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) fell by 30.0 and 61.7 points, respectively.