The stock market slipped back into negative territory on Wednesday as bargain hunters moved to short-term profit-taking, with investors remaining cautious amid evolving political signals.
DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, fell by 21.1 points, or 0.42 per cent, to close at 4,942, reversing the brief recovery seen over the previous two sessions.
The Shariah-compliant DSES dropped 9.03 points, or 0.72 per cent, and the blue-chip DS30 declined 9.94 points, or 0.45 per cent.
An optimistic start faded in the latter half of the session as selling pressure intensified and pulled the indices lower despite the stronger opening, EBL Securities said in its post-closing commentary.
Investor participation increased as turnover rose by 16.6 per cent to Tk5.3 billion from Tk4.6 billion in the earlier session.
Textile issues generated the highest turnover with contributing to 14.5 per cent of the DSE total for the day, followed by pharmaceuticals’ 14.1 per cent and engineering sector’s 11.5 per cent turnover share.
Most sectors posted negative returns, with paper falling by 1.8 per cent, IT by 1.5 per cent and ceramics by 1.5 per cent. Life insurance gained 2.4 per cent, services rose 0.5 per cent and jute edged up 0.4 per cent.
Out of 397 issues traded, 110 advanced, 223 declined and 64 remained unchanged.
The Chattogram Stock Exchange ended the day in positive territory, with the Selective Categories Index gaining 33 points and the All Share Price Index rising by 53.4 points.
