Dhaka stocks slip for third day

Indices at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) closed lower today, with losses in large-cap sectors dragging the market down for a third straight session as turnover also weakened.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the bourse, dropped 39.14 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 5,337.86, according to DSE data.

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

Turnover, a key indicator of investor activity, stood at Tk 611.87 crore, down from Tk 787.48 crore in the previous session, reflecting lower investor participation in line with the market slump.

The market closed in red as all 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 1.1 percent of the overall market turnover.

Market breadth was mostly negative, with 105 issues advancing against 221 declining, while 73 remained unchanged.

Among the major sectors, NBFIs experienced the steepest fall, losing 1.22 percent, followed by banks, which dropped 0.87 percent, engineering 0.77 percent, and food & allied 0.56 percent.

Telecommunication shed 0.55 percent, fuel & power eased 0.42 percent, and pharmaceutical declined 0.35 percent.

CVO Petrochemical Refinery was the most traded share with a turnover of Tk 22.9 crore, BRAC EPL said.

On the day's performance table, Pioneer Insurance Company surged 9.94 percent to top the gainers' list, while Union Bank dropped 9.09 percent, becoming the worst performer of the session.