The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dipped below 5,600-mark on Thursday as worried investors continued to sell their stocks.
DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went down by 30.40 points or 0.54 per cent to finish at 5,570. It was the lowest level of DSEX since January 02, 2019.
The daily trade turnover also dropped below 4.0 billion-mark to Tk 3.91 billion on Thursday, hitting almost a three-month low, as most investors remained on the sidelines.
Market analysts said institutional investors remained cautious amid liquidity crunch while small investors were not confident enough to inject fresh fund into stocks.
Instability in the banking sector amid rising non-performing loans coupled with liquidity shortage and soaring interest rate are weighing on investors' mood, said an analyst.
The market opened lower and the downtrend continued until the end of the session amid moderate volatility.
Two other indices also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 12.58 points to close at 1993 and the DSES (Shariah) index lost 5.28 points to settle at 1,284.
The day's turnover stood at Tk 3.91 billion, 5.50 per cent down from the previous day's turnover of Tk 4.14 billion.
The market participation hit a three-month low as most of the investors adopted a 'go slow' strategy ahead of year-end earnings and dividend declarations of the financial sector, said EBL Securities.
A total of 109,115 trades were executed in the day's trading session, with trading volume standing at 72.88 million shares and mutual fund units.
The market-cap of the DSE also slumped to Tk 4,149 billion from Tk 4,163 billion in the previous day.
According to International Leasing Securities, the market witnessed another downbeat session, as the risk-averse investors opted to liquidate their portfolios to avert further losses.
The stockbroker noted that banking, financial institutions, power, pharma, food and textile sectors stocks saw selling pressure, which led the index to close at its lowest since January 2, 2019.
The heavyweight banking sector posted the biggest loss of 1.30 per cent, with prices of 19 banks, out of a total of 30 listed banks, closing lower.
The non-bank financial institutions saw the second biggest loss of 1.02 per cent, followed by power sector (0.85 per cent), pharmaceuticals (0.42 per cent) and food (0.34 per cent).
Telecommunications and engineering sectors advanced 0.45 per cent and 0.29 per cent respectively.
The losers took a modest lead over the gainers, as out of 345 issues traded, 154 closed lower, 135 ended higher and 56 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Singer Bangladesh topped the turnover list, with shares worth Tk 237 million changing hands, closely followed by Alif Industries, BATBC, Brac Bank and Monno Ceramic.
Agrani Insurance was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 9.78 per cent while BIFC was the day's worst loser, shedding 5.17 per cent.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange, ended lower, with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - shedding 58 points to settle at 17,108 while the Selective Categories Index-CSCX - lost 36 points to finish at 10,370.
The losers beat the gainers, as 137 issues closed lower, 75 ended higher and 24 remained unchanged.
The port city bourse traded 3.02 million shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 95 million in turnover.
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