Selling pressure towards the close wiped out the Dhaka Stock Exchange’s (DSE) early gains on Sunday, ending a two-session recovery as the benchmark index slipped and trading activity weakened.
The DSEX, the broad index of the premier bourse, fell 10.35 points, or 0.19 per cent, to close at 5,402.69, down from 5,413.04 in the previous session.
The market opened on a positive note and remained largely in the green after a midday recovery. But buying momentum faded as the session progressed, allowing late selling to erase the gains and push the index into negative territory.
The reversal came alongside a decline in trading activity. Turnover fell 13.4 per cent to Tk558.80 crore from Tk645.40 crore in the previous session, while trading volume dropped 12.8 per cent to 17.6 crore shares from 20.2 crore.
The blue-chip DS30 index lost 10.26 points, or 0.5 per cent, to settle at 2,058.37. The SME-focused DSMEX index also declined 2.9 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 942.
Market breadth remained firmly negative. Of the 395 issues traded, 198 declined, 120 advanced and 77 remained unchanged, indicating that losses extended across a larger number of securities than gains.
Textile stocks accounted for the largest share of turnover, representing 26.6 per cent of total transactions. General insurance followed with 13.6 per cent, while fuel and power accounted for 11.2 per cent.
Sectoral performance was mixed. Textile stocks led the gainers, rising 1.6 per cent, followed by jute with a 1.5 per cent increase and engineering with a 1 per cent gain.
Food and allied stocks recorded the steepest sectoral decline, falling 2.2 per cent. Travel stocks dropped 1.5 per cent, while general insurance lost 1.2 per cent.
Matin Spinning Mills topped the individual gainers, rising 9.96 per cent. Silva Pharmaceuticals advanced 8.62 per cent, Intech gained 7.35 per cent, Saiham Textile Mills rose 7.29 per cent and Al-Haj Textile Mills added 6.26 per cent.
Bangladesh National Insurance Company led the losers, falling 9.46 per cent. Islami Bank Bangladesh declined 7.34 per cent, Prime Finance First Mutual Fund lost 6.62 per cent, Golden Son dropped 6.06 per cent and People’s Leasing and Financial Services fell 5.88 per cent.
