Late-hour sell-off drags DSE down, market cap sheds Tk2,534cr
67% of stocks traded at DSE see prices decline, despite majority seeing price surges at the opening
The country's capital market today (6 August), the last trading session of the week, saw heavy sell-offs take hold from mid-session onward, dragging the market into the red and wiping out Tk2,534 crore in market capitalisation as most stocks lost value.
Stocks opened on a positive note, with the benchmark DSEX gaining 31 points by 10:14am. Selling pressure emerged shortly after, but positive momentum held until noon, according to Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) data.
Heavy sell-offs then gripped the market for the rest of the session, pulling the index into negative territory by the close. The DSEX dropped 33 points, or 0.56%, to finish at 5,860.
The decline was largely driven by a sharp wave of profit-taking and panic selling that gathered pace midway through the day, undoing the morning's stability.
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The blue-chip DS30 index, which tracks 30 leading listed companies, slipped 10 points to close at 2,192, while the DSES Index, representing Shariah-compliant equities, fell 5 points to 1,181.
Market breadth stayed heavily skewed toward losers as investors rushed to offload holdings across major sectors. Of the 392 issues traded, 263, over 67% of the total, declined, while only 88 advanced and 41 remained unchanged.
Despite the downturn, daily turnover rose 3.26% to Tk1,147.74 crore, up from the previous session.
Overall market capitalisation shrank to Tk7.08 lakh crore by the end of the day, down from Tk7.10 lakh crore in the prior session.
EBL Securities, in its daily market commentary, said the DSE benchmark index closed in negative territory in the week's final session as selling pressure intensified near the psychological 5,900-point level amid persistent domestic concerns, prompting cautious trading despite supportive monetary measures and government initiatives to ease the energy crisis.
"Although market indices opened higher and managed to stay afloat until mid-session, the momentum could not hold for long, as profit-taking resurfaced as the session progressed, reflecting persistent investor caution amid uncertainty over the near-term market outlook," it added.
On the sectoral front, textile stocks accounted for the highest share of turnover at 20.8%, followed by general insurance at 20.4% and pharmaceuticals and chemicals at 9.9%.
Almost all sectors posted negative returns, with mutual funds, services and food stocks seeing the sharpest corrections, while only life insurance and paper stocks logged gains on the bourse.
Nitol Insurance topped the gainers' list, rising 9.76% to close at Tk42.7 per share, followed by Samata Leather, up 7.76% to Tk109.7, First Prime Mutual Fund, up 4.81% to Tk26.1, Dhaka Insurance, up 4.32% to Tk48.2, and BD Autocars, up 3.99% to Tk216.9.
Meanwhile, Sena Insurance led the losers, falling 7.91% to Tk119.8 per share, followed by Premier Leasing, down 6.45% to Tk2.9, Sharp Industries, down 6% to Tk39.1, CNA Textile, down 5.88% to Tk3.2, and Queen South Textile, down 5.52% to Tk18.8.
The port city bourse, CSE, also closed in negative territory, with the Selective Categories' Index (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) declining by 40.6 points and 64.6 points, respectively.
