Banks, NBFIs drag Dhaka stocks down

Shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell today, with losses in non-bank financial institutions and banking shares wiping out gains from the past two sessions.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the bourse, declined 17.26 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 5,492.34, according to DSE data.

Other indices followed the performance of the main index. The Shariah-based DSES decreased 0.23 percent to 1,191.29 while the blue-chip DS30 went down by 0.34 percent to 2,127.12.

Turnover, a key indicator of investor activity, stood at Tk 737.57 crore, up from Tk 674.13 crore in the previous session, signifying higher investor participation despite the market downturn. 

The market closed in red as most of the large-cap sectors posted negative performance, said BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Ltd in its daily market update.

Block trades–high-volume transactions involving large numbers of securities–contributed 2.7 percent of the overall market turnover. 

Market breadth was negative, with 123 issues advancing against 189 declining, while 84 remained unchanged.

Among the major sectors, NBFI experienced the highest loss of 1.30 percent followed by bank 1.27 percent and pharmaceutical 0.34 percent while the engineering sector shares rose 0.03 percent. 

Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries Limited, rising 6.7 percent, was the most traded share with a turnover of Tk 42 crore. 

On the day's performance table, Peoples Leasing and Fin Services surged 9.09 percent to top the gainers' list, while Prime Finance & Investment dropped 8 percent, becoming the worst performer of the session.