The benchmark index of the Dhaka bourse failed to keep its upbeat vibe on Thursday as cautious investors were busy in profit booking the day after the central bank unveiled its contractionary monetary policy for January-June.
Investors were wary of a probable shift in market momentum following the policy rate hike aimed at cooling inflation, said EBL Securities.
Before Thursday, the exchange had seen dominance of buyers across the trading board in the consecutive sessions after the national election.
DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, declined by 9.5 points from the previous session to settle at 6,337 points.
The indices observed volatility throughout the session as sellers dominated the market to realise short-term gains.
Beacon Pharmaceuticals, Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa Limited, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Unique Hotel & Resorts, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, Power Grid, Pubali Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Square Pharmaceuticals, and Olympic Industries jointly accounted for 90 per cent of the day's index fall.
Investors' appetite for taking long-term positions in equities is still subdued. Cautious investors were not hopeful about the sustainability of the upbeat vibe in the market.
Of the 339 issues traded, 111 closed lower, 56 higher and 172 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, observed a decrease in investor participation as it went down by 16.12 per cent from the day before to Tk 6.4 billion.
On the sectoral front, pharmaceuticals saw the highest turnover accounting for 17 per cent of the total turnover, followed by engineering 16.3 per cent and general insurance 11.8 per cent.
Most of the sectors displayed dismal returns; for example travel lost market value by 3.7 per cent, services by 1.1 per cent, and tannery by 0.7 per cent.
On the other hand, the general insurance sector experienced a slight gain by 0.2 per cent and engineering 0.1 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) ended lower, with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) losing 23.62 points to settle at 18783 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) shedding 14 points to close at 11234.
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