Dhaka stocks witnessed a sharp fall on the last trading day of the week, with the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dropping by 122 points, the second biggest single-day fall this year.

At the end of Thursday’s session, the benchmark DSEX index slid 122 points to settle at 4,702. Earlier in the first week of May, the index had dropped by 150 points, the year’s biggest fall so far.

The other two indices also ended deep in the red. The Shariah-based DSES index declined by 28 points to close at 976, while the blue-chip DS30 index fell by 47 points.

Out of 384 issues traded, only 15 advanced, 17 remained unchanged and as many as 352 declined.

Investors said they were ‘hit hard’ by the steep fall, adding that in the current market situation, “preserving capital has become a challenge, while profits are just a distant dream.”

In the block market, shares worth Tk 19 crore were traded across 27 companies, with Simtex Industries PLC topping the list by offloading shares worth Tk 4.9 crore.

The total turnover at the DSE stood at Tk 383 crore, up from Tk 290 crore in the previous session.

Al-Arafah Islami Bank PLC topped the gainers’ chart with a 3.57 percent rise, while Miracle Industries Ltd suffered the steepest fall, losing 10 percent in value.

The situation was even worse at the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), where the CASPI index dropped 216 points.

Of the issues traded, 20 advanced, 136 declined and 4 remained unchanged.

The turnover also fell at the port city bourse to Tk 7 crore from Tk 9 crore in the previous session.

Familtex (BD) Ltd emerged as the top gainer at the CSE with a 10 percent rise, while ICB AMCL 3rd Mutual Fund was the worst loser, shedding 10 percent.