Dhaka stocks end week with a fall

• Benchmark DSEX drops 54 points to 5,283
• Turnover weakens as investor participation slows
• Engineering, NBFIs lead sectoral declines

Equities at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended the final trading session of the week today lower, dragged down by losses in engineering and non-bank financial institutions.It was the fourth straight session of decline.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the bourse, shed 54.14 points, or 1.01 percent, to close at 5,283.71, according to DSE data.

Other indices also had negative performances as the Shariah-based DSES and the blue-chip DS30 also slipped into negative territory.

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

Turnover, a key gauge of investor activity, fell to Tk 530.18 crore from Tk 611.87 crore in the previous session, reflecting subdued participation in line with the market downturn.

Block trades, high-volume transactions involving large numbers of securities, contributed 2.3 percent of the overall market turnover.

Market breadth was firmly negative, with 72 issues advancing against 292 declining, while 34 remained unchanged.

Among the major sectors, engineering shares suffered the biggest fall, sliding 1.26 percent, followed by non-bank financial institutions at 1.09 percent and pharmaceuticals at 0.94 percent.

Food and allied dropped 0.91 percent, banks 0.79 percent, fuel and power 0.75 percent, and telecommunications 0.30 percent.

Dominage Steel Building Systems emerged as the most traded stock, posting a turnover of Tk 21.9 crore, said BRAC EPL.

On the performance table, Rahima Food Corporation surged 9.04 percent to top the gainers' list, while Union Bank slumped 10 percent, making it the worst performer of the session.