Dhaka stocks extend losing streak

Business Report:

Dhaka stocks kept going down for a third day in a row as the main index went down due to the poor performances in the non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) and engineering sectors on Sunday.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the bourse, declined 68.08 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 5,381.84, according to Dhaka Stock Exchange data.

Other indices followed the performance of the main index. Shariah-based DSES decreased 1.63 percent to 1,158.95 while the blue-chip DS30 went down by 1.12 percent to 2,083.43. Turnover, a key indicator of investor activity, stood at Tk 621.49 crore, down from Tk 654.72 crore in the previous session, signifying lower investor participation in line with the market downturn.

The market closed in red as all 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 4.8 percent of the overall market turnover. Market breadth was overwhelmingly negative, with 39 issues advancing against 307 declining, while 50 remained unchanged. Among the major sectors, NBFI experienced the highest loss of 2.65 percent followed by engineering 1.36 percent, fuel and power 1.24 percent, bank 1.05 percent, telecommunication 1.05 percent, pharmaceutical 0.96 percent, and food and allied 0.95 percent, respectively.