Stocks fall 1.53% amid bank, NBFI losses

Shares at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended the first trading day of the week on a lower note yesterday, dragged down by losses in bank and non-bank financial institutions shares.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the bourse, shed 81.25 points, or 1.53 percent, to close at 5,202.46, according to DSE data.

It was the fifth straight session of decline, signifying persistently weak investor sentiment, as the DSEX lost 245 points during this period.

Other indices followed the pattern of negative performance, as the Shariah-based DSES and the blue-chip DS30 also slipped into negative territory.

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

Turnover, a key gauge of investor activity, stood at Tk 542.55 crore, up from Tk 530.18 crore in the previous session, reflecting slightly higher participation despite the market slump.

Block trades — high-volume transactions involving large numbers of securities — contributed 2.6 percent of the overall market turnover.

Market breadth was firmly negative, with 47 issues advancing against 311 declining, while 38 remained unchanged.

Among the major sectors, NBFIs suffered the steepest decline of 2.40 percent, followed by the engineering sector with a 1.98 percent drop.

Bank shares lost 1.94 percent, food and allied shares fell 1.56 percent, fuel and power 1.30 percent, telecommunications 0.51 percent, and pharmaceuticals 0.47 percent.

CVO Petrochemical Refinery emerged as the most traded stock, posting a turnover of Tk 23.9 crore, said BRAC EPL.

On the performance table, Simtex Industries surged 9.88 percent to top the gainers' list, while Bangladesh Industrial Fin Co slumped 9.38 percent, making it the worst performer of the session.