Dhaka stocks drop for second day

Dhaka stocks slipped today, on the final trading day of the week, weighed down by losses in non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) and engineering shares, extending its losing streak to a second session. 

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the bourse, declined 42.41 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 5,449.92, according to Dhaka Stock Exchange data.

Other indices followed the performance of the main index. The Shariah-based DSES decreased 1.09 percent to 1,178.19 while the blue-chip DS30 went down by 0.93 percent to 2,107.13.

Turnover, a key indicator of investor activity, stood at Tk 654.72 crore, down from Tk 737.57 crore in the previous session, signifying lower investor participation in line with the market downturn. 

The market closed in red as all the large-cap sectors posted negative performance, said BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Ltd in its daily market update.

Block trades, high-volume transactions involving large numbers of securities, contributed 4.6 percent of the overall market turnover. 

Market breadth was overwhelmingly negative, with 44 issues advancing against 303 declining, while 50 remained unchanged.

Among the major sectors, NBFI experienced the highest loss of 1.96 percent followed by engineering 1.11 percent, telecommunication 0.91 percent, pharmaceutical 0.68 percent, food & allied 0.60 percen, bank 0.46 percent, and fuel & power 0.08 percent, respectively.

Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries Limited was the most traded share with a turnover of Tk 30 crore, BRAC EPL said. 

On the day's performance table, United Commercial Bank surged 5.71 percent to top the gainers' list, while Bay Leasing & Investment dropped 9.09 percent, becoming the worst performer of the session.