The Dhaka bourse closed the week with continued losses on Wednesday as both the broad index and turnover fell amid sustained selling pressure in some major sectors.
The major sectors that witnessed price correction on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) include financial institutions, general insurance, textile and cement.
On the other hand, telecommunications and fuel & power sectors saw price appreciation.
According to the market operators, the premier bourse extended its losing streak for the fourth straight week, with investors taking a 'cautious' stance ahead of year-end declarations by the companies.
During the week, shaky investors opted to realise gains from their portfolios while others readjusted their portfolios targeting sector-specific, large-cap scrips, said the EBL Securities in a market review.
At the end of the week, the DSE broad index - DSEX - closed at 5,745.83 points, down 0.08 per cent or 4.46 points over the previous week.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, however, advanced 0.15 per cent or 3.10 points to close at 2002.18.
The Shariah-based index - DSES - also closed 0.11 per cent or 1.46 points higher at 1,312.91.
Of the total issues traded, 94 advanced, 229 declined and 26 remained unchanged on the DSE.
The premier bourse featured an average daily turnover of Tk 7.28 billion, 10.70 per cent lower than the average daily turnover of the previous week.
According to the International Leasing Securities, the market faced a mild correction in the last trading week, as the investors preferred to book profits from their investments in the wake of recent price surge.
"The price correction observed in the last few weeks tempted the bargain hunters to take position at the lucrative price level in different stocks, especially telecoms, fuel & power, bank and pharmaceuticals sectors," it said.
The investors' activities were mostly concentrated on the textile sector, which grabbed 17.2 per cent of the market turnover, followed by engineering (16.1 per cent) and fuel & power (11.8 per cent).
Ceramic sector witnessed a 4.4 per cent price appreciation, followed by telecom (3.4 per cent) and fuel & power (2.6 per cent).
On the other hand, the jute sector saw a 5.9 per cent price correction followed by general insurance (5.1 per cent) and textile (2.6 per cent).
The United Power Generation and Distribution Company Limited (UPGDCL) topped the weekly turnover chart, grabbing 8.4 per cent of the weekly average turnover followed by Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) (6.9 per cent) and Fortune Shoes (4.7 per cent).
The small-cap stocks topped the chart of gainers. Mercantile Insurance Company was the number one gainer, closing at Tk 33.30 each.
The other top gainers were Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Monno Ceramic Industries, Rangpur Foundry and Eastern Insurance Company.
Savar Refractories was the biggest loser of the week, shedding 18.21 per cent to close at Tk 92.10 each.
The port city bourse - Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) - also closed in the red. The CSCX and CASPI indices lost 8.0 points and 17.1 points respectively.
In the last week, two companies declared dividends for the year ended on December 31, 2018.
The Reliance Insurance recommended 15 per cent cash and 10 stock dividends while the board of IDLC Finance recommended 35 per cent cash dividend.
