Staff Correspondent: After showing signs of recovery over the previous two trading sessions, Bangladesh's stock market plunged into a broad-based decline once again on Tuesday. Both the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed falling share prices across most listed companies, dragging all key indices down. Alongside, DSE also recorded a significant drop in trading volume.
The trading day at the DSE had started on a positive note, with many share prices ticking upwards. This early optimism briefly pushed the indices higher. However, within an hour and a half, a wave of selling pressure began to mount as a section of investors rushed to offload shares. As the session progressed, the selling pressure intensified, and more companies began to slip into the red.
By the end of trading, a clear downward trend had taken hold. With buyer interest waning, market activity also slowed. At close, only 54 companies on the DSE managed to see their share prices rise, while 309 suffered losses and 35 remained unchanged.
Among well-performing companies - those offering 10% or higher dividends - 32 saw gains, while 178 declined and 10 remained flat. In the mid-tier category (less than 10% dividend), just 9 shares rose against 70 fallers and 4 unchanged. Within the 'Z' category - often viewed as underperformers due to lack of dividends - 13 gained in value, while 61 declined and 21 held steady.
In the mutual fund segment, only 2 out of 36 listed funds recorded price increases, while 32 fell and 2 were unchanged.
The DSEX, DSE's benchmark index, fell by 46 points to close at 4,874. The Shariah-based DSES lost 12 points, ending the day at 1,063, while the DS30 - comprising the 30 top-performing blue-chip firms - dropped 16 points to 1,798.
Turnover at the DSE also dropped notably. Total transactions stood at Tk 343.93 crore, down from Tk 364.09 crore in the previous session - a fall of Tk 20.16 crore.
Leading the day's turnover chart was Midland Bank, which saw shares worth Tk 16.21 crore exchanged. Beach Hatchery followed with Tk 15.88 crore, and NRB Bank came in third with Tk 14.12 crore in trades.
Other notable names among the top 10 in terms of turnover included BRAC Bank, City Bank, First Bangladesh Fixed Income Fund, Baraka Patenga Power, AB Bank First Mutual Fund, Jamuna Bank, and KDS Accessories.
Meanwhile, the CSE also closed in the red, with its CASPI index shedding 36 points. Of the 201 companies traded, 55 advanced, 113 declined and 33 remained unchanged. Total turnover at the CSE stood at Tk 7.67 crore, slightly up from Tk 7.29 crore in the previous session.
The continued decline across both bourses paints a worrying picture for investors, as selling pressure outweighs buying interest despite recent signs of stabilisation.