Indices at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended mixed while the main index at the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) was steady at the close of the week that ended on Thursday amid thin participation of traders  following Eid-ul-Azha holiday, dealers said.
The investors were cautious ahead of third-quarterly earnings declaration while most of them also opted for rebalancing their portfolio ahead of forthcoming third-quarterly earnings declaration, triggering market volatility, the said. The week had four sessions out of the usual due to the festival holiday.
DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, rose 3.67 points or 0.08 per cent to settle the week at 4,856.97, against the previous week. But the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, lost 9.08 points or 0.49 per cent to finish at 1,851.27 and the DSE Shariah Index dropped 8.90 points or 0.75 per cent to end the week at 1,182.14.
At the port city bourse CSE, its Selective Categories Index CSCX ending the week at 9,047.96.
The total turnover for the week stood at Tk 17.50 billion against Tk 13.02 billion in the week before, which had three for the start of the vacation.
The average daily turnover was Tk 4.37 billion, up 0.77 per cent from the previous week's Tk 4.34 billion.
"Stocks witnessed choppy trading almost throughout the week as investors might have preferred to rebalance their portfolio ahead of third-quarterly earnings disclosure," said stockbroker the International Leasing Securities.
Bank, Cement and NBFI stocks witnessed notable buying pressure while telecommunication, power and engineering stocks witnessed selling pressure last week, it said. "Financial stocks supported the market to sustain above 4,850-level in index," LankaBangla Securities, a stockbroker, in its weekly analysis.
"Investors were also eyeing on the economic updates at the end of first quarter of current fiscal year in the last week," said the stockbroker.
The stockbroker noted that increase in net investment in the national savings certificates and bonds might have a negative drag in market.
IDLC Investments, a merchant bank, said, "Trading commenced with a good context as Asian Development Bank elevated the growth forecast for Bangladesh to 6.7 per cent, the highest in recent year, while downgrading forecast for the most other countries in the region, reflecting the multilateral organization's strong optimism for the country". However, market remained timid amid weak participation, said the merchant bank.
Investors were most active in pharmaceuticals, engineering and power sectors, where they captured 19 per cent, 15 per cent and 12 per cent respectively of the week's total turnover. "The participation from investors remained poor as investors adopted 'wait-and-see' stance last week amid cautiousness," said the International Leasing. The major sectors posted mixed performance last week. Among the major sectors, bank saw the highest return of 1.9 per cent followed by cement 0.50 per cent and NBFIs 0.10 per cent.
Telecommunication took a significant hit last week, plunging by 4.5 per cent. It was followed by engineering 1.5 per cent and fuel and power 0.7 per cent. "GP, the largest cap stock witnessed 4.7 per cent loss on regulatory approval for Robi-Airtel merger and proposed mobile number portability mechanism," said the IDLC analysis.
Losers outpaced gainers as out of 325 issues traded, 165 declined, 139 advanced and 21 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor during the week.
The market capitalisation of the DSE went down by 0.54 per cent as it was Tk 3,377.31 billion on the opening day of the week and it stood at Tk 3,359.16 billion on closing day of the week. Three listed companies - Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation, Premier Cement and Eastern Housing-- recommended dividend last week.
Far Chemical Industries dominated the week's turnover list with shares of Tk 868 million changing hands during the week followed by Saif Powertec, GP, Square Pharma and Islami Bank.
AIBL First Mutual Fund was the week's best performer, posting a rise of 28.33 per cent while ICB Seventh Mutual Fund was the week's worst loser, plunging by 11.89 per cent.