The benchmark index of the Dhaka bourse declined on Thursday, ending a four-day rally that added nearly 200 points, as cautious investors locked in profits and moved to a wait-and-see stance.
The DSEX of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) edged down 0.66 per cent to 4,869.01 points.
Before losing 32.37 points on Thursday, the index had gained 198.69 points, or 3.54 per cent, over the four days to Wednesday.
The capital market saw a halt in its recent recovery streak in the week's final trading session, as, according to EBL Securities, cautious investors booked profits and adopted a wait-and-see approach amid uncertainty surrounding the upcoming legal proceedings tied to margin rules.
Turnover on the DSE increased to Tk 4.45 billion on Thursday from Tk 4.21 billion in the previous session.
Although investor activities remained relatively balanced on both the buy and sell sides until mid-session, the market turned negative in the latter half as selling pressure intensified across the board, weakening the earlier four-day recovery, said EBL Securities.
Engineering, pharmaceuticals, jute, life insurance, and travel stocks led the decline, while selective buying in banking stocks cushioned the fall.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 238 to 104, with 29 issues unchanged on the DSE.
The blue-chip DS30 index slipped 1.08 per cent, while the Shariah-compliant DSES index fell 0.83 per cent.
Sector-wise, textile posted the highest turnover at 13 per cent, followed by fuel & power at 12.4 per cent and pharmaceuticals at 11.7 per cent.
Most sectors posted negative returns, with jute down 3.8 per cent, life insurance down 3.6 per cent, and travel down 2.9 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange ended on a mixed note. The CSCX (Selective Categories Index) fell 13.4 points, while the CASPI (All Share Price Index) inched up 0.7 points.
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