Stocks extended the losing streak for the second straight week as investors mostly followed cautious stance amid rising trend of Covid-19 cases while some focused on the primary market.
Week-on-week, DSEX, the core index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 25.09 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 4,879.
The benchmark index lost more than 62 points in the past two consecutive weeks.
Market operators said the investors mostly shifted their attention to the primary market while many of them followed cautious stance amid rising trend of Covid-19 infections and fatalities in recent days.
The subscription of the biggest IPO in the history of Bangladesh started on Tuesday and will continue until November 23. The company would raise Tk 5.23 billion under the fixed price method.
The secondary market remained sluggish for the last few days as investors gave their attention to the primary market to collect at least an IPO lot to book some short-term profit, said a merchant banker.
"Guaranteed profit through initial public offerings encouraged the investors to bet on primary shares," he said.
The merchant banker noted that subscription and price bidding of a number of companies in the past few weeks had also stuck a large amount of fund in the primary market which also a reason for low turnover in recent days.
Throughout the week the market exhibited volatility as buyers and sellers both maintained cautiousness about their trade execution, said a leading broker.
Bargain hunters, however, showed their buying appetite on sector specific issues which declared satisfactory dividend and quarterly earnings, particularly on pharmaceuticals and banking sector stocks, he added.
The mutual fund sector took a big hit, losing 8.80 per cent, after gaining 11.40 per cent in the week before, following the news that the stock market regulator formed a body to probe into the unusual price hike of five closed-end mutual funds.
Seven out of top 10 losers in the week also belong to mutual fund sector.
According to EBL Securities, investors disposed their holdings to join the IPO subscriptions which kept the market depressed for the past few sessions.
The week featured five trading sessions as usual. Of them, three sessions faced correction while two sessions edged higher.
Two other indices also ended lower. The DSE 30 Index comprising blue chips lost 10.26 points to finish at 1,701 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) shed 11.44 points to close at 1,128.
Total turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 39.09 billion last week which was Tk 45.56 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged Tk 7.81 billion last week, which was 14 per cent lower than the previous week's average of Tk 9.11 billion.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -losing 99 points to settle at 13,968 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX falling 60 points to close at 8,410.
Of the issues traded, 176 declined, 72 advanced and 65 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city's bourse traded 55.19 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 1.12 billion during the week.
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