The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell below 5,500-mark after three months on Sunday as worried investors continued their selling binge.
DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went down by 13.60 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at 5,491. It was the lowest level of DSEX since January 01, 2019.
The daily trade turnover on the prime bourse remained below Tk 4.0 billion-mark as most of the investors were reluctant to make fresh investment in stocks.
Market analysts said the ongoing pessimism coupled with lower than expected dividend declaration by some banks dented the investors' confidence in the market.
The low turnover reflected the absence of institutional support while small investors remained on the sidelines due to lack of market triggers, said a leading broker.
"The gloomy market outlook kept investors anxious as they were not confident enough injecting fresh fund in stocks," commented EBL Securities.
The stockbroker noted that shaky investors continued their selling spree amid concern over the prevailing liquidity crunch in the financial sector.
The market opened on positive note and the core index rose about 17 points within 25 minutes of trading. But, rest of the session eroded the early gains amid modest volatility.
Two other indices also edged down. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 1.46 points to finish at 1967 and the DSES (Shariah) index lost 6.01 points to settle at 1,275.
Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 3.61 billion, which was 2.56 per cent higher than the previous day's three months' lowest turnover of Tk 3.52 billion.
A total number of 95,077 trades were executed in the day's trading session with trading volume of 74.99 million shares and mutual fund units.
The market-cap of the DSE also stood at Tk 4,119 billion which was Tk 4,118 billion in the previous day.
According to International Leasing Securities, the panicked investors mostly liquidated their holdings, particularly from engineering, pharma, textile, bank and financial institution sectors.
The engineering sector posted the highest loss of 0.80 per cent, followed by pharma with 0.50 per cent, textile 0.40 per cent, banking 0.20 per cent and financial institution 0.10 per cent.
On the other hand, food, telecommunication and power sectors gained 1.0 per cent, 0.50 per cent and 0.30 per cent respectively.
The losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 346 issues traded, 191 closed lower, 106 ended higher and 49 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
United Power topped the turnover list with shares worth Tk 392 million changing hands, closely followed by BATBC, Monno Ceramic, Grameenphone and Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company.
Agrani Insurance was the day's best performer for the second straight session, posting a gain of 8.67 per cent while Meghna Pet Industries was the day's worst loser, losing 7.20 per cent.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange, also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - shedding 78 points to settle at 16,803 points while the Selective Categories Index - CSCX -losing 48 points to finish at 10,178.
Here too, the losers beat the gainers as 137 issues closed lower, 60 ended higher and 33 remained unchanged.
The port city bourse traded 4.02 million shares and mutual fund units worth nearly Tk 153 million in turnover.
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