Stocks extended the losing streak for the fourth straight week as risk-averse investors kept their sell-offs to avoid further losses amid persistently lackluster trading.
The government rolled out the nationwide mass coronavirous vaccination drive on first day of the week but no positive impact on it was visible on the stock market.
The week saw five trading days as usual. Of them, three sessions fell sharply while two posted gains.
Week-on-week, the DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), plunged by 162.65 points or 2.88 per cent to settle at 5,485.
DSEX wiped out roughly 423 points in the past four consecutive weeks.
Market analysts said the risk-averse investors continued their sell-offs on major sectors stocks amid persistently volatility in the market.
Pressure on margin loans adjustment to regulatory allowable limit, Bangladesh Bank's circular regarding dividend limit of banks coupled with price fall of large-cap stocks continued to put a negative impact on the market, they said.
Panicky investors, particularly the small ones, released their holdings after noticing that some heavyweight issues kept falling in the past few weeks, said a merchant banker.
"Investors dumped shares of LankaBangla Finance, Summit Power, LafargeHolcim, Beximco pharma, Square Pharma and Robi Axiata, putting pressure on the indices amid sluggish trading," he said.
LankaBangla Finance's share price crashed 10.37 per cent, Summit Power and LafargeHolcim fell more than 7.0 per cent each, the heavyweight drug maker Beximco Pharma lost 4.50 per cent, newly listed Energypac Power plunged about 5.0 per cent and Square Pharma shed 1.61 per cent.
He noted that as the investors' participation plummeted for the last few weeks and large-cap stocks prices started falling, investors became wary about further correction which triggered the panic sale.
The stock market regulator ongoing probes into unusual price movement, particularly in newly listed stocks, also contributed to investors' anxiety, he added.
Two other indices also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, plunged 63.04 points to finish at 2,110 and the DSE Shariah Index lost 24.97 points to finish at Tk 1,236.
The weekly total turnover on the prime bourse stood at Tk 40.86 billion, slightly up from Tk 37.52 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 8.17 billion, which was 8.89 per cent higher from the previous week's average of Tk 7.50 billion.
The central bank's circular regarding dividend limit for the year ended on December 31, 2020 and the news of some 11 banks failed to maintain the required provisioning particularly against classified loans also triggered selling pressure, commented International Leasing Securities.
The anxious investors sold-off their stakes from major sectors stocks, particularly from financial institutions, cement, banking, power, telecom and pharma to escape from further losses.
The financial institutions sector posted the highest loss of 7.0 per cent, followed by cement with 6.3 per cent, banking 3.8 per cent, power 2.9 per cent, telecom 1.9 per cent and pharma 1.2 per cent.
The port city's bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also fell sharply with its CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - plunging by 448 points to settle at 15,883 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - shedding 268 points to finish the week at 9,585.
Of the issues traded, 203 declined, 27 advanced and 71 remained unchanged on the CSE.
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