Bangladesh’s stock market fell for a second straight session on Thursday as investors locked in gains after the recent rally, while uncertainty over possible changes to margin rules and lingering macroeconomic and geopolitical risks kept broader buying in check.
DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), dropped 13.4 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5,884.
The blue-chip DS30 fell 7.8 points to 2,193, while the DSMEX index of small- and medium-sized companies slipped 1.7 points to 1,133.
The retreat came with weaker trading activity, suggesting investors were becoming more selective rather than aggressively exiting the market.
Turnover fell 13.8 per cent to Tk925.63 crore from Tk1,073.70 crore in the previous session. The number of trades declined 10.5 per cent to 2,39,663, while trading volume fell 19.1 per cent to 29.90 crore shares.
Market capitalisation edged down to Tk7.076 lakh crore from Tk7.082 lakh crore a session earlier.
Trading remained volatile, with investors moving between profit-taking and selective buying.
Selling pressure intensified in several large-cap stocks in the final hour, pulling the main indexes further into negative territory, while insurance and momentum-driven stocks continued to attract demand.
Of the 395 issues traded, 182 declined, 132 advanced and 81 were unchanged, pointing to a moderately negative market breadth.
Textiles remained the most actively traded sector, accounting for 24.9 per cent of total turnover. General insurance followed with 16.4 per cent, and pharmaceuticals and chemicals with 10.3 per cent turnover contribution for the day.
Engineering contributed 8.1 per cent, while fuel and power accounted for 4.3 per cent.
Services led sectoral gains, rising 0.8 per cent, followed by textiles at 0.7 per cent and general insurance at 0.5 per cent. Travel and leisure stocks posted the steepest sectoral decline, falling 1.4 per cent.
Ceramics and food-allied stocks each dropped 0.9 per cent.
Tung Hai Knitting & Dyeing was the biggest gainer, rising 10.00 per cent, followed by Desh Garments at 9.98 per cent, Mithun Knitting at 9.49 per cent, GBB Power at 9.35 per cent and Nurani Dyeing at 8.33 per cent.
Barka Power rose 7.69 per cent, while First Finance, Far East Knitting & Dyeing, C&A Textiles and People’s Leasing gained 6.25 per cent, 5.76 per cent, 5.71 per cent and 5.56 per cent, respectively.
Prime Insurance was the biggest decliner, falling 4.29 per cent, followed by Sunlife Insurance at 3.78 per cent and CAPM BDBL Mutual Fund at 3.74 per cent.
Far Chemical Industries and Al-Arafah Islami Bank fell 3.04 per cent and 3.03 per cent, respectively.
New Line Clothings dropped 2.90 per cent, Regent Textile 2.86 per cent, Queen South Textile 2.63 per cent and 1st Janata Mutual Fund 2.56 per cent.
Analysts said the second consecutive decline suggests investors are taking a more cautious approach after the market’s recent gains.
With turnover and volume falling alongside the indexes, the immediate direction of the market is likely to depend on whether profit-taking broadens or fresh buying returns to large-cap stocks.
