Stocks tumbled on Sunday after a three-day rally, as cautious investors opted to book profit from quick-gaining issues.
During the trading hours, some 50 listed companies published their first quarter (Q1) unaudited earnings for the period July-September 2021.
Although some companies, including Beximco and Beximco Pharma, posted hefty profit growth, their share prices dropped sharply, exacerbating the market correction.
The market had opened on a positive note and the key index rose 30 points but failed to sustain the momentum, as investors went on a selling binge amid lower-than-expected earnings disclosures by a number of companies.
Finally, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled 65.85 points or 0.94 per cent lower at 6,930, after gaining 196 points in the past three straight sessions.
Meanwhile, ACME Pesticides made a flying trading debut on Sunday as its share price soared 10 per cent, the highest allowable limit on debut day.
The company's share price closed at Tk 11 each. Some 713 shares were traded on the DSE floor. The company's trading was halted at one point as investors rushed to buy its shares, but no sellers were seen on the trading board.
Market analysts said risk-averse investors opted for profit-booking as quarterly earnings disclosures by a number of companies during the trading hours failed to meet their expectations.
"Profit-taking came into action as below-expected quarterly earnings of many companies made investors pessimist," according to EBL Securities.
Beximco, one of the large-cap stocks, exacerbated the market correction as the stock witnessed price correction although it declared a substantial upsurge in earnings, said the stockbroker.
Beximco's EPS skyrocketed by 2835 per cent year-on-year to Tk 4.11 for the July-September 2021, but its share price plunged by 2.32 per cent to close at Tk 180.70.
Beximco Pharma's share price also plunged by 3.51 per cent although the drug maker's EPS jumped over 36 per cent year-on-year to Tk 3.28 for July-September, 2021.
Top negative index contributors were British American Tobacco, Beximco, Beximco Pharma, Robi and LafargeHolcim. They jointly accounted for a fall of 30 points.
Two other indices also fell sharply -- the DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, lost 24.97 points to finish at 2,655 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) dropped 12.60 points to close at 1,464.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, also fell to Tk 11.11, down 26 per cent from the previous day's tally of Tk 15.06 billion.
Major sectors saw corrections but the banking sector gained marginally by 0.20 per cent, led by BRAC Bank.
The cement sector saw the highest corrections of 3.20 per cent, followed by financial institutions (2.10 per cent), general insurance (1.70 per cent), textile (1.50 per cent), food (1.50 per cent), power (0.90 per cent), pharma (0.70 per cent) and telecom (0.30 per cent).
More than 73 per cent traded issues shed their price, as out of 373 issues traded, 273 declined, 68 advanced and 32 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco was the most traded stock with shares worth Tk 1.54 billion changing hands, followed by BRAC Bank (Tk 654 million), Orion Pharma (Tk 473 million), IFIC Bank (438 million) and Genex Infosys (342 million).
Sena Kalyan Insurance, which made its shares trading debut last week, was the day's top gainer, rising 10 per cent while Premier Cement was the worst loser, shedding 9.94 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) shedding 203 points to settle at 20,293 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) losing 122 points to close at 12,195.
Of the issues traded, 198 declined, 53 advanced and 20 remained unchanged on the CSE. The port city's bourse traded 8.45 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 315 million.
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