Stocks extended the losing streak for the seventh running sessions on Monday as investors were reluctant to make fresh investments.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) came down below 4,400 points mark after five months and ended at 4,364.27 points, shedding 38.23 points or 0.86 per cent.
The other two indices also saw sharp decline. The DS30, comprising blue chips lost 14.85 points or 0.92 per cent to close at 1,583.06 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) declined 10.36 points or 1.05 per cent to close at 971.40 points.
DSE turnover dropped further and amounted to Tk 2.17 billion which was 5.24 per cent lower over the previous day's value of Tk 2.29 billion. It was also seven-month lowest turnover since Tk 1.88 billion on October 22, 2103.
"Ongoing bearish vibe clutched the country's stock market firmly while the investors' participation fell to this year's record low," commented International Leasing Securities.
The investors were appeared to go sideline and tried to fathom the bottom of the market. Most of the large caps suffered from day's setback whereas ICB, Padma Oil and Meghna Petroleum yielded gain to some extent, said the International Leasing.
"Dragged by profit booking on selected sectors like bank, NBFIs and fuel & power sectors over consistent slowed down market activities, index continued to remain under pressure for the seventh consecutive session," said LankaBangla Securities.
Benchmark index extended further losses with DSEX breaking the psychological 4,400 level weighed down by concern over reducing exposure of banks in capital market following Central Bank's pressure, said the stock broker.
At this point, instead of getting worried, investors might find it worthwhile to take position on defensive stocks, said the stock broker.
Adding to this, various sources of National Board of Revenue (NBR) said that it is planning to reduce corporate tax rates. This is very encouraging as it will boost corporate profitability, the stock broker said.
There is expectation that tax rate for listed entities will be brought down to 25 per cent from current 27.5 per cent.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), country's GDP growth is likely to cross the 6.0 per cent this fiscal year 2013-14 despite the devastating political turmoil in the first half, it added.
"Panic grew strong in investors' mindset, with the current down trend continuing unabated and defying one psychological barrier after another," said IDLC Investments.
"Investors are now concerned about the ongoing down trend whereas others are just holding their cash as the market fails to inspire trust for lucrative investments," observed Zenith Investments.
The losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 293 issues traded, 178 declined, 84 advanced and 31 issues closed unchanged on the DSE floor.
All the major sectors posted loss with pharmaceuticals and fuel & power were the biggest losers - losing 1.05 per cent and 1.02 per cent respectively.
Telecommunications and food & allied also went down by 0.42 per cent and 0.43 per cent respectively. In the financial sectors - banks lost 0.57 per cent and NBFIs lost 0.12 per cent.
