Dhaka stocks extended their losing streak on Thursday as late-session selling pressure wiped out early gains, pushing the benchmark index lower for the third straight session.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), fell 22.7 points, or 0.4 per cent, to close at 5,515 points.
The market opened higher but failed to sustain the momentum as investors increased selling across the trading board. Heavy liquidation in the final hour pushed the index into negative territory.
The blue-chip DS30 index declined 7.7 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,095, while the SME-focused DSMEX fell 20.1 points, or 1.9 per cent, to 1,050.
Despite the fall in indices, trading activity increased during the session. Turnover rose 4.7 per cent to Tk544.4 crore from Tk519.8 crore a day earlier.
The number of trades increased 5.3 per cent to 1,56,869, while the volume of traded shares rose 18.6 per cent to 21.8 crore shares from 18.4 crore shares in the previous session.
Textile stocks dominated trading activity, accounting for 24.7 per cent of total turnover. The sector recorded Tk134.60 crore in transactions, followed by general insurance with Tk103.76 crore and banks with Tk54.67 crore.
Most sectors ended lower. Services stocks posted the steepest decline, falling 1.6 per cent, followed by life insurance at 1.5 per cent and financial institutions at 1.3 per cent.
Mutual funds bucked the broader trend, gaining 3.5 per cent to become the best-performing sector of the day.
Among individual stocks, CAPM BDBL Mutual Fund was the top gainer, rising 9.72 per cent. Phoenix Finance 1st Mutual Fund gained 9.20 per cent, while EXIM Bank First Mutual Fund advanced 8.82 per cent.
Sena Insurance and Mercantile Islami Insurance also recorded gains of 8.53 per cent and 7.33 per cent respectively.
On the losing side, Reliance Insurance declined 6.18 per cent, Desh Garments dropped 4.92 per cent and AFC Agro Biotech fell 4.62 per cent.
The market remained under pressure as investors continued to offload shares in several sectors, although higher turnover indicated active participation amid the ongoing correction.
