Special Correspondent: The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) extended its downbeat vibe for four consecutive sessions as investor concerns remained vigilant due to current volatility across the trading board amid prevailing economic concerns.
The key index DSEX lost 8.36 points and closed at 5,097.33. The blue-chip index DS30 and the Shariah-based index DSES closed at 1,875.39, and 1,143.71 points, respectively.
Most of the large-cap sectors posted negative performance on Thursday. Engineering experienced the highest loss of 1.18% followed by NBFI (-0.82%), Fuel & Power (-0.47%), Telecommunication (-0.34%), Pharmaceutical (-0.09%), Food & Allied (+0.17%), and Bank (+0.67%), respectively.
Block trades contributed 5.3% of the overall market turnover. Beach Hatchery Ltd. was the most traded share with a turnover of Tk 159 million.
Meanwhile, market turnover also fell by 14.4% to Tk 3.4 billion as against Tk 4 billion in the previous session.
Out of the 397 issues traded, 123 advanced, 190 declined and 84 remained unchanged. In its daily market commentary, the EBL Securities said that the market continued to remain sell-dominant as cautious investors held onto their watchful stance amid prevailing uncertainties.
However, the ailing market indices found some cushion, with gains in selective Bank stocks partially offsetting the broader market decline.
The SME index, DSMEX, decreased by 20.77 points, and the market generated a Tk 2.1 crore turnover, a 55% decrease from the previous session.
According to the Royal Capital Financial Portal, ISLAMIBANK and SQURPHARMA contributed the most to the gains and the losses of the DSEX index on Thursday , and the bull predominates, ending mixed.
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 42.3 and 63.6 points, respectively.