DHAKA, April 2, 2026 (BSS) -  Stocks today retraced into negative territory, defying the previous session’s recovery efforts, as lingering economic uncertainties and the persistent Middle East crisis overshadowed any temporary relief in investor sentiment amid the absence of a decisive catalyst in favour of the market's momentum. 

DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, lost 53.1 points to settle at 5,220 points as against 5,273 points in the previous trading session. 

Market indices observed range-bound movement till the first half of the session; however, mounting sell pressure in the latter half pushed most scrips into the red by the session’s close. 

Meanwhile, market turnover decreased by 13.0% to TK 6.3 billion from TK 7.2 billion in the previous session. 

On the sectoral front, Pharma (15.5%) accounted for the highest share of turnover, followed by Textile (10.4%) and Engineering (10.3%) sectors. Almost all the sectors displayed negative returns, Mutual Fund (-3.3%), Cement (-1.6%), Bank (-1.5%) exhibited the most corrections returns while only IT (2.1%) exhibited some positive returns on the bourse today. 

Of the 397 issues traded, 63 advanced, 301 declined, and 32 remained unchanged.
The port city bourse, CSE, also settled on a negative territory. The Selective Categories' Index (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) declined by 39.0 points and 77.8 points, respectively.