Equities on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell for a third consecutive week, as bargain hunters picked up select shares after the recent slump, but weak momentum kept the market in the red.
The capital bourse endured another challenging week as broad-based selloffs in the absence of a reviving catalyst for the ailing market pushed the market indices to decline further, said EBL Securities in its weekly market review.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel.
The DSEX, the key index of the premier bourse, declined 34.8 points, or 0.64 percent, to close at 5,415.13.
Other indices performed similarly, with the DS30, which tracks blue-chip stocks and the DSES, comprising Shariah-compliant companies, both dropped, according to DSE data.
Although bargain hunters are turning back to the market as opportunistic investors targeted a handful of stocks trading at lucrative price levels, the weak market momentum kept equity indices anchored in negative territory, said EBL Securities.
Turnover, a key indicator of investor activity, fell sharply to Tk 2,918.83 crore, down from Tk 3,505.32 crore in the previous week.
On a daily average, turnover stood at Tk 580 crore, down 16.7 percent week-on-week.
“Investor sentiment mostly remained cautious ahead of the upcoming earnings season, with many participants opting to secure short-term gains and closely monitor market trend,” EBL Securities said.
Most sectors closed lower, with banks losing the most 1.9 percent, while services gained the most 3.7 percent.
Market breadth was largely negative as 219 issues declined, 139 advanced and 37 remained unchanged.
Among individual issues, GQ Ball Pen Industries was the top gainer, soaring 17.8 percent, while Baraka Power Limited endured the sharpest fall, plunging 20.7 percent during the week.