The Dhaka bourse closed the week with a sharp decline on Thursday, as traders experienced yet another day of sell-offs on concerns over the impacts of coronavirus outbreak, which has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Stocks dived deep into the red on the day after showing strong rebounding efforts in the previous two sessions.
DSEX, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), plummeted 2.39 per cent or 101.96 points to close at 4129.96 points.
The declining trend of the stocks was seen from the very beginning and it continued throughout the session, as majority of the listed securities lost value.
During the subdued trading, many junk shares witnessed price gains while many other companies with good fundamentals, such as Square Pharmaceuticals and Grameenphone, closed in the red.
The market opened the session on a negative note and the DSEX lost 126 points within two and a half hours amid ups and downs.
However, the DSEX was able to pare some losses in the remaining hours of the trading session.
According to the EBL Securities, the key index dropped significantly as many investors liquidated their holdings after observing the ongoing market movement.
"People are yet to come out of panic mode as caronavirus outbreak spread across the world. Investor confidence still remains shaky, as the virus crisis is threatening more disruptions to businesses and the world economy," it said.
The depressed market outlook kept the investors worried, resulting in poor participation of investors, it added.
The DSE also saw two other equities indices ending lower. The Shariah-based index, DSES, settled 2.22 per cent or 21.76 points lower at 957.78.
And the DS30 index, comprising blue chip securities, went down by 2.26 per cent or 32.02 points to close at 1381.59.
Out of 351 issues traded, only 36 gained, 293 declined and 22 remained unchanged on the premier bourse.
Turnover, an important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 4.09 billion on the premier bourse, down from Tk 4.22 billion in the previous session.
Of the total turnover, Tk 331.71 million came from block trade.
Of the major sectors which lost value, engineering sector declined 4.2 per cent, textile 4.1 per cent, telecommunications 3.0 per cent, banking 2.6 per cent, fuel & power 2.4 per cent and pharmaceuticals & chemicals 0.8 per cent.
Investors' participation was concentrated mostly on pharmaceuticals & chemicals sector, which featured a turnover of Tk 1.03 billion, followed by engineering (Tk 540.6 million), textile (Tk 397.6 million), fuel & power (Tk 289 million), and banking sector (Tk 192.5 million).
Orion Pharma topped the turnover chart by generating Tk 184 million, followed by Beacon Pharmaceuticals (Tk 115 million), Orion Infusion (Tk 110 million), Grameenphone (Tk 106 million) and Monno Ceramic Industries (Tk 101 million).
Orion Pharma topped the gainers' chart as it jumped 8.98 per cent to close at Tk 44.90 each.
Delta Brac Housing was the worst loser, declining 17.80 per cent to close at Tk 96 each.
Meanwhile, CASPI, the broad index of Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also witnessed a sharp loss on Thursday.
At the end of the session, the CASPI settled 1.82 per cent or 235.16 points lower at 12643.15.
Of 233 issues traded, 38 advanced, 180 declined and 15 remained unchanged on the CSE and the turnover stood at Tk 116.28 million.
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