Dhaka stocks lost ground for the third consecutive week in the past week, as a section of investors continued selling shares to prevent further erosion in their portfolios and remained watchful on the market, market operators said.
They said that investors were suffering from a crisis of confidence amid the bearish vibe on the market.
Also, investors remained cautious in selecting stocks, keeping an eye on the Bangladesh Securities Exchange and Commission鈥檚 steps against companies over non-compliance with securities laws, they said.
Market operators, however, said that these regulatory actions were positive for the market, considering their long-term impacts.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, lost 40.52 points, or 0.74 per cent, in the past week to end at 5,422.06 points. The DSE lost a total of 313 points in the past three weeks.
The Dhaka bourse operated in four sessions in the past week instead of usual five sessions, as trading on the bourse remained closed on October 10 on the occasion of Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community in Bangladesh.
Market operators said that the investors became cautious as the stock market regulator took a number of regulatory actions against several individuals and companies in the past weeks.
Recent actions also included the DSE downgrading 28 companies to the 鈥榋鈥� category due to their failure in disbursing of dividends.
Moreover, a section of investors protested at the downward trend on the narket in front of the old DSE building at Motijheel, and in front of the BSEC building at聽 Agargaon in the capital Dhaka in the past week.
The total turnover on the DSE declined in the past week to reach Tk聽1,466.72 crore compared with that of Tk聽2,131.09 crore in the previous week.
Of the 395 issues traded in the past week, 211 increased, 146 decreased and 38 stayed the same.
Investors were mostly active in bank scrips, followed by pharmaceutical and food shares.
EBL Securities in its weekly market commentary said, 鈥業nvestors remained watchful amid the ongoing regulatory debates, while potential further policy rate hikes and uncertainty surrounding earnings declarations for June-ending companies triggered the bearish trend to persist.鈥�
鈥楬owever, bargain hunters emerged in the final trading session of the week to avail short-term gain opportunities following significant corrections, providing a cushion to the market鈥檚 free fall,鈥� it added.
The DS30 index decreased by 5.86 points, or 0.29 per cent, to finish at 1,984.99 points.
The DSE Shariah index lost 15.4 points, or 1.26 per cent, to close at 1,205.87 points in the past week.
Agni Systems topped the average weekly turnover chart with shares worth Tk 25.81 crore changing hands per session.
Midland Bank, BRAC Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh, Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream, Grameenphone, Square Pharmaceuticals, Social Islami Bank, Techno Drugs and The IBN SINA Pharmaceutical Industry聽were the other turnover leaders.
