Stocks slipped into the red again on Thursday, snapping a two-day gaining streak, as risk-averse investors dumped sector-specific shares.
The DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled 15.77 points or 0.29 per cent lower at 5,395, after adding 36 points in the past two sessions.
Market analysts said most of the investors adopted cautious stance as they awaited the government move to review the proposed tax measures for listed companies.
In the wake of strong criticism from market stakeholders, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman hinted at the possibility of reviewing the proposals announced in the budget for fiscal year (FY) 2019-20.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) also said that they would sit with the finance minister (FM) and the NBR chairman to discuss the issue.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed, among other, imposition of 15 per cent additional tax on retained earnings and reserves, only if the amount exceeds 50 per cent of the paid-up capital of the company.
The minister also proposed imposition of 15 per cent tax on stock dividend to promote cash dividend as part of efforts to increase money flow into the stock market.
On Thursday, two other indices of the DSE also finished lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 3.42 points to settle at 1,894 and the DSE Shariah Index lost 1.80 points to close at 1,233.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, also fell to Tk 4.45 billion, 20 per cent down from the previous day's turnover of Tk 5.54 billion.
Investors opted to book quick gains from their portfolio, especially from insurance sectors, along with some other large-cap stocks that witnessed price appreciation in recent upbeat momentum, commented EBL Securities.
The International Leasing Securities said the trading session witnessed volatility throughout the session as investors were active on both sides of the trading fence.
A total number of 117,880 trades were executed in the day's trading session, with trading volume standing at 133.80 million securities.
The market capitalisation of the DSE also fell to Tk 3,978 billion on Thursday from Tk 3,989 billion in the previous session.
Most of the major sectors faced correction, non-bank financial institutions posting the highest loss of 1.06 per cent, followed by food (0.62 per cent), telecommunication (0.33 per cent), engineering (0.27 per cent) and banking (0.20 per cent).
On the other hand, pharmaceuticals and power gained 0.10 per cent and 0.07 per cent respectively.
The losers took a strong lead over the gainers, as out of 351 issues traded, 222 declined, 85 advanced and 44 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Sunlife Insurance was the day's best performer, logging a gain of 7.33 per cent while Sonar Bangla Insurance was the worst loser, plunging 7.80 per cent.
The port city's bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange, also ended marginally lower with its CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - losing 42 points to settle at 16,522 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - shedding 27 points to finish at 10,011.
Here too, the losers beat gainers, as 150 issues closed lower, 69 ended higher and 44 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city bourse traded 13.89 million shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 419 million in turnover.
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