Stocks fell marginally on Tuesday for the second consecutive session as some investors continued to sell shares for avoiding further losses.
DSEX, the core index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,409, after shedding 7.72 points or 0.14 per cent over the previous day.
It was a day of choppy trading on the DSE. The market fell at the beginning of the session, before rising twice during the trading hours. However, it failed to stay on the green.
Market insiders said selling spree was seen in the large-cap sectors while the small-cap sectors managed to end in the green.
"Some investors were busy rebalancing their portfolio ahead of national budget, taking the DSE turnover to one-month high," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
Among the major sectors, telecommunication posted the highest correction of 0.90 per cent, followed by financial institutions 0.68 per cent, banking 0.49 per cent, pharmaceuticals 0.41 per cent and food & allied 0.13 per cent.
Only fuel & power and engineering sectors witnessed positive movements.
Two other indices of the premier bourse also saw marginal corrections. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, dropped 5.38 points to settle at 2,006 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 3.54 points to close at 1,254.
"The market faced mild correction as the cautious investors continued to sell shares amid ongoing bearish market trend," commented International Leasing Securities, a stockbroker, in an analysis.
The stockbroker noted that the expectant investors reshuffled their portfolio and took position on textile, fuel & power and engineering sectors at the lucrative price levels.
However, the turnover, an important indicator of the market, increased to Tk 5.64 billion, which was more than 30 per cent higher than the previous day's Tk 4.32 billion.
The day's turnover was also the highest transaction in one-month since April 30, when the turnover was Tk 6.92 billion.
According to EBL Securities, the risk-averse investors continued their selling spree amid ongoing bearish market trend and adopted cautious stance ahead of national budget.
The losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of the 334 issues traded, 151 closed lower, 138 higher and 45 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco was the day's most traded stock with shares worth Tk 315 million changing hands, closely followed by Intraco Refueling Station, Monno Ceramic Industries, Nahee Aluminum and Alif Industries.
Alif Industries was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 10 per cent while Central Insurance was the day's worst loser, shedding 8.62 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also finished lower with CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - losing 39 points to end at 16,703 and Selective Categories Index - CSCX - losing 23 points to finish at 10,109.
Losers beat gainers as 122 issues closed lower, 73 higher and 34 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city's bourse traded 6.72 million shares and mutual fund units worth more than Tk 207 million in turnover.
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