Stocks down amid selling pressure 

Stocks at the Dhaka bourse experienced a slight decline on Thursday, the last trading session of the week, due to late-hour selling pressure.

As a result, while most stocks saw a drop in prices, turnover increased compared to the previous session.

DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), declined by 5.7 points to settle at 5,202 points, as against 5,207 points in the previous trading session, according to the DSE.

Stocks opened on a positive note, but throughout the session, DSEX experienced fluctuations. Since 11:55am, selling pressure pushed the market into the red.

With today's decline, stocks continued a downtrend for the two consecutive sessions.

DSE shariah index almost flat by declining 0.19 points to 1,158 points but DS30, the blue-chip index increased by 6.44 points to 1,887 points. 

Meanwhile, market turnover slightly increased by 3.0% to Tk497.13 crore, which was Tk482.51 crore in the previous session. 

Of the traded stocks, 138 scrips advanced, 199 stocks declined and 60 stocks remained unchanged.

EBL Securities in its daily market commentary said the prime index of the DSE closed in red territory in the final session of the week, reversing the early session gains as investors remained cautious over the market's momentum ahead of the last week before the Eid holidays.

"The market observed a brief upbeat vibe till the mid-session, while investors' subsequent cautious selling approach eroded all the early gains. Moreover, modest price corrections in particular large cap scrips, particularly the Bank stocks following the recent gains, contributed significantly to the index's decline," it said.

On the sectoral front, Pharma sector issues exerted the highest by 16.2% in the total turnover, followed by Engineering by 15.1% and Textile 12.4%. 

Sectors mostly displayed mixed returns, out of which Paper, Mutual Fund and Cement exerted the most corrections on the bourse, while Financial Institution, Services and IT exhibited the most positive returns. 

On the DSE, Midas Finance topped the gainer chart with 9.30% gain in its share price to Tk9.4 each, followed by DBH First Mutual Fund by 9.09% to Tk4.8 each, Summit Alliance Port 6.81% to Tk23.5 each, ACME Pesticides by 6.66% to Tk16 each, and Summit Power by 6.08% to Tk15.7 each. 

While United Commercial Bank was top loser list considering today's close price and previous close price by 6.92% to Tk12.1 each, Sharp Industries by 5.88% to Tk20.8 each, EBL First Mutual Fund by 5.71% to Tk6.6 each, Paramount Insurance by 5.33% to Tk39 each, and EBL NRB Mutual Fund by 5.26% to Tk3.6 each. 

The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also settled on red terrain.

The Selective Categories' Index (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) declined by 1.3 and 8.0 points, respectively.