Stocks witnessed a continuing downward trend and expanded the losing streak for the third straight week as investors took wait-and-see strategy amid global economic uncertainty caused by Ukraine crisis.
DSEX, the prime index of the DSE dropped 142.92 points or 2.09 percent to settle at 6,696.52 on Thursday. The DSEX had ended at 6839.44 in the previous week.
Besides, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) lost more than 11,928.56 crore in the last week as nervous investors rushed to dump their equities amid Ukraine crisis.
The market-cap on the DSE declined by 2.17 percent to stand at Tk 5,50,355.98 crore on Thursday from Tk 5,38,427.41 crore in the previous week.
Market analysts said the stocks witnessed downward trend as the prospect of settlement of negative equities and the Ukraine crisis left negative impacts on the turnover and market-cap.
They said cautious investors booked profit on sector-wise securities by selling their shares in the last two weeks, which pushed the market down.
They said the investors took a cautious mood over rising coronavirus infections and ongoing lower corporate earnings declaration.
The stock market witnessed a massive fall during the last week due to the impacts of some issues, including the Ukraine-Russia crisis, they mentioned.
The investors refrained from making any fresh investments and adopted a wait-and-see approach, they added.
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However, the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, also went down by 52.04 points to close at 2,463. However, the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) advanced 33.73 points to settle at 1,442.
The week's total turnover stood at Tk 37.45 billion on the DSE which was Tk 39.87 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 7.49 billion on the country's prime bourse, which was about 24.86 percent lower than the previous week's average of Tk 9.96 billion.
Of the 386 issues traded, 55 advanced, 319 declined and 12 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Bangladesh Export Import Company was the most traded stocks with shares worth Tk 377.40 crore changing hands.
It was followed by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 181.21 crore), Sonali Paper and Board Mills (Tk 112.35 crore), Fortune Shoes (Tk 99.90 crore) and Orion Pharma (Tk 91.67 crore).
Sunlife Insurance Company was the top gainer, posting a 14.89 percent gain, while NCCBL Mutual Fund was the worst loser, shedding 16.85 percent.
On the other hand, the port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw a rapid fall with its selective category index (CSCX) losing 252.88 points in the last week to close at 11746.37 points.
The All-Share Price Index (CASPI) of the CSE was also lower by 419.5 points to close at 19,572.02 points.
Of the 344 issues traded, 47 advanced, 286 declined and 11 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city's bourse traded 6.34 crore shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 134.21 crore during the last week.
