Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Dhaka stocks declined for a fourth week as investors experienced a dearth of credit due to high demand for cash ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival, market operators said.

During the week, the DGEN, the benchmark yardstick of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, shed 94.84 points or 1.53 per cent to close at 6,118.02.

The DSE-20 Index comprising blue-chip shares fell 33.53 points or 0.81 percent to 4,127.66.

“The market is still suffering from a liquidity dearth as institutions largely remained inactive in the market due to high demand for money ahead of the Eid festival,” LankaBangla Securities said in its a weekly analysis.

Activities were significantly down on the bourse where turnover, volume and trade plunged 22.64 percent, 9.63 percent and 19.84 percent respectively.

The week witnessed four trading sessions instead of five, as Monday (August 15) was National Mourning Day on the death anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Of four trading sessions of the week, only one gained while three sessions lost.

The small investors seemed to be suffering from a lack of confidence, fearing further instability in the market, while the thin participation of institutional investors contributed to small volume and turnover, The Daily Star, a local newspaper, reported quoting an asset manager.

Of 265 issues traded, only 34 advanced, while 223 declined and eight remained unchanged during the week.

Average daily turnover declined to BDT 3.91 billion, which was a 22.90 percent decline from the previous week.

Most sectors declined in the last week. All financial sectors: banks 2.05 percent, non-bank financial institutions 1.26 percent, general insurance 2.07 percent and life insurance 2.32 percent respectively.

BBN/SSR/AD-21Aug11-10:41am (BST)