Indexes of share markets in Bangladesh fell for a fifth trading day yesterday as investors made cautious bets only on blue-chip stocks amidst falling prices. 

Regarding the fall in stock prices, Saiful Islam, president of the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh, said the main driver was a lack of confidence among investors in the market.

The market regulator must bring back investors' confidence in the market as soon as possible, he said.

Initially, after the interim government took to office, the prime index rose by 700 points in one week, which was unprecedented, he said.

"Really, we are now enjoying a correction or profit-taking period. But none of us could predict that it will be prolonged by such a long extent," said Islam.

"Actually, there was uncertainty in the overall situation of the country, especially in the banking sector, financial sector and macroeconomy. In such a situation, investors are not gaining confidence on the market," he said.

Initially, after the interim government took up office, the prime index rose by 700 points in one week, which was unprecedented, said an expert

"It is necessary to bring back confidence…we have to do that right away. No more delay for it. The regulator will have to do the main work with the stakeholders. Only paperwork will not hold water. Confidence will be brought back in reality," he added.

The views were echoed by Asif Khan, chairman of EDGE Asset Management Company.

However, Khan believes that the market would make a rebound if the economy stayed on the right track. "I am optimistic about it," he said.

"The market witnessed a euphoria; it rose massively after the interim government took up the helm. Therefore, we also saw a massive fall," he added.

"Now an anti-corruption movement is going on. The accounts of various persons are being frozen. Most of them have held shares for the last 15 years. We have also heard that some more accounts will be frozen. All these have an impact on the market," said Khan.

He also pointed out that the blue-chip shares, which are called fundamentally sound shares, are more resilient than the other shares such as Square, BRAC Bank, Marico.

"The market has been falling…But these shares are not falling in the way that other shares have fallen. They had a flow," he said.

The DSEX, the broad index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), dropped 108.40 points, or 1.90 percent from the day prior to close at 5,606, marking the losing streak for the fifth consecutive day.

The DSES index for the Shariah-based companies slipped 28.28 points, or 2.30 percent, to 1,201 and the DS30 index for the blue-chip firms sunk 45.64 points, or 2.18 percent, to 2,047.

At Chittagong Stock Exchange, the all-share price index went down by 227.69 points, or 1.38 percent, to settle at 16,202.

However, turnover at the DSE, which is the total value of shares traded, increased 3.51 percent from that on the preceding day to Tk 536.8 crore.

The banking sector dominated the turnover chart accounting for 36.25 percent of the day's total market turnover.

The contribution of block trades, meaning high-volume transactions in a security that are privately negotiated and executed outside of the open market, was 10.7 percent of the overall market turnover.

Square Pharmaceuticals was the most traded share with a turnover of Tk 74.6 crore.

Of the issues that were traded, prices of 11 went up, 371 closed lower and 12 remained unchanged.

Shares of National Bank, United Commercial Bank, Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream, National Tea Company, Kay and Que Bangladesh, Rupali Bank, Rangpur Foundry, Agni Systems and Reckitt Benckier Bangladesh drew investors the most, according to LankaBangla Financial Portal.

No entity posted a double-digit growth in share prices.

National Bank logged the highest gain of 6.54 percent.

Islami Bank Bangladesh, BAT Bangladesh, Square Pharmaceuticals, Grameenphone, BRAC Bank, Renata, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Pubali Bank and Olympic Industries showcased a lacklustre performance.

All sectors that account for large amounts in market capitalisation, which is the current value of their shares, posted a negative performance, according to the daily market update by BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage.

Telecommunication experienced the highest loss of 2.97 percent followed by food and allied (2.80 percent), non-bank financial institutions (2.78 percent), engineering (2.53 percent), fuel and power (1.94 percent), pharmaceuticals (1.78 percent), and bank (1.74 percent).