Stocks extended the losing streak for the second straight session on Tuesday, with turnover hitting nearly one-year low, as the risk-averse investors sold their holdings to avoid further losses.
Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, came down to Tk 5.75 billion, which was 7.25 per cent lower than the previous day's tally of Tk 6.20 billion.
It was also the lowest single-day transaction since April 15, 2021 when turnover was recorded at Tk 5.56 billion.
Along with sluggish turnover, the core index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dipped below the 6,700-mark after ten trading days as cautious investors kept their sell-offs.
DSEX, the key index of the DSE, slid 24.61 points or 0.36 per cent to settle at 6,694. The core index lost 77.61 points in the past two straight sessions.
Market analysts said the recent regulatory intervention failed to stop the market fall as investors are mostly reluctant to make fresh investments amid a fear of global economic turmoil due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
The ongoing pessimism and temporary circuit breaker kept investors mostly inactive, bringing the turnover below Tk 6.0 billion-mark, said a leading stockbroker.
He noted that the general investors remained shaky amid rising cost of living during Holy Ramadan while the institutional investors adopted 'wait-and-see' strategy ahead of dividend declarations.
The capital market faced consecutive corrections while the equity indices dwindled to red terrain as investors engaged in sell-offs to book profit, according to EBL Securities.
Due to the limited trading window during Ramadan, trading activity slowed down, hitting over 11 months low, said the stockbroker.
"The investors preferred to hold cash in hand fearing the price hike of necessities during the Holy Ramadan and the worldwide ongoing economic turmoil," commented International Leasing Securities.
Two other indices also closed lower with the DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, losing 4.08 points to finish at 2,464 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) dropped 1.27 points to close at 1,460.
Prices of more than 75 per cent traded issues fell on the prime bourse, as out of 381 issued traded, 286 declined, 51 advanced and 44 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco topped the turnover list with shares worth Tk 486 million changing hands, closely followed by LafargeHolcim (Tk 325 million), IPDC Finance (Tk 306 million), GSP Finance (Tk 253 million) and VFS Thread Dyeing (Tk 151 million).
The newly listed JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing continued to top the gainer list for the third straight session, posting a 9.77 per cent gain, while Pragati Insurance was the day's worst loser, losing 2.66 per cent following its corporate declaration.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -losing 54 points to settle at 19,646 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - shedding 32 points to close at 11,786.
Of the issues traded, 193 declined, 61 advanced and 30 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port-city bourse traded 5.12 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value worth Tk 123 million.
