The stock market plunged in the outgoing week, snapping a four-week winning streak, as risk-averse investors rushed to book profit on quick-gaining stocks amid growing virus tension.
This week featured five trading days as usual. After the first two days' massive fall, the market somewhat ended flat in the last three sessions as investors mostly adopted the 'wait-and-see' approach.
Week on week, DSEX, the prime index of DSE, slid 78.14 points or 1.10 per cent to settle at 7,027, after gaining 403 points in the previous four consecutive weeks.
Market analysts said cautious investors booked profit on sector-wise stocks as many large-cap stocks saw price surge in the last four weeks.
The profit-booking tendency among investors made the market close in the negative territory, said a merchant banker.
He noted that overall downward pressure intensified as the rising virus cases and deaths further dented the investor confidence.
The market participation has reduced to a great extent amid the rising trend of virus cases in the country, according to a stockbroker.
A section of investors also rebalanced their portfolios during the week ahead of quarterly earning declarations, he said.
According to weekly market analysis of EBL Securities, the rising virus cases prompted many investors to sell off stocks to realise capital gain while few sector-specific issues seemed to gain investors' attention ahead of earning declarations.
During this week, two other DSE indices also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, plunged 33.04 points to finish at 2,602 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) dropped 8.42 points to close at 1,499.
The week's total turnover dropped to Tk 61.49 billion on the prime bourse which was Tk 82.43 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 12.29 billion on the country's premier bourse, which was 25.40 per cent lower than the previous week's average of Tk 16.48 billion.
Despite the market plunge, stocks of some low-cap companies, including ceramic, food, general insurance and textile, saw an upsurge in prices.
Though the investors' focus was on the miscellaneous sector at the beginning of the week, it shifted to the textile sector at the end of the week as the investors are anticipating positive growth in the textile sector's upcoming earnings, said International Leasing Securities.
Market capitalisation of the DSE also fell 0.41 per cent to Tk 5,629 billion on Thursday, from Tk 5,652 billion in the week before.
Two new companies -- Union Bank and BD Thai Food & Beverage -- made their trading debut during the week.
Union Bank's share closed at Tk 12.10 each on Thursday, the second day of debut, rising 21 per cent in the two consecutive sessions.
Share price of BD Thai Food soared 46 per cent in the four trading days since its debut on Monday to close at Tk 14.60 each on Thursday.
Major sectors showed mixed performances. The power sector saw the highest correction of 1.80 per cent, followed by cement (1.80 per cent), engineering (1.60 per cent), telecom (1.10 per cent), banking (0.80 per cent) and financial institutions (0.40 per cent).
On the other hand, ceramic, food, general insurance and textile surged 2.90 per cent, 1.10 per cent, 0.40 per cent and 0.10 per cent respectively.
Losers took a strong lead over the gainers, as out of 388 issues traded, 268 declined, 99 advanced and 21 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco, which lost 4.30 per cent, was the most traded stocks with shares worth Tk 4.85 billion changing hands, followed by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 3.47 billion), Power Grid Company (Tk 1.71 billion), Asia Insurance (Tk 1.30 billion) and RAK Ceramic (Tk 1.25 billion).
Newly listed Union Insurance was the top gainer, posting a 60 per cent gain, while Tamijuddin Textile Mills was the worst loser, shedding 13.41 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower, with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) shedding 231 points to settle at 20,586 while it's Selective Categories Index (CSCX) losing 138 points to close at 12,366.
Of the issues traded, 235 declined, 84 advanced, and 31 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city's bourse traded 58.36 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 1.78 billion.
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