The main index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) lost 146.8 points, or 2.6 per cent, during the week from September 6 to 10 as the prolonged energy crisis continued to weigh on investor sentiment and corporate earnings prospects.

The capital market ended the week on a bearish note, with persistent concerns over the energy crisis, a weakening corporate earnings outlook and cautious investor sentiment weighing on market performance, according to EBL Securities.

The broader economic backdrop also remained challenging. Bangladesh’s overall economic activity contracted marginally in August, as a sharp slowdown in manufacturing and services outweighed continued expansion in agriculture and a recovery in construction, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data.

The headline PMI fell 7.9 points to 49.9 in August from 57.8 in July, slipping below the 50-point threshold that separates expansion from contraction.

The weakness in economic activity came alongside continued pressure on household purchasing power. Bangladesh’s headline inflation eased only marginally in August, mainly due to slower food-price growth, but the improvement was too small to provide meaningful relief to consumers as wage growth continued to lag behind the overall rise in prices.

According to the latest data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Monday, point-to-point inflation declined to 8.26 per cent in August from 8.32 per cent in July.

Against this backdrop, the week started on a subdued note, with the prolonged bearish trend pushing the DSEX below the 5,500-point mark during intraday trading. Investors remained concerned about the impact of persistent gas and electricity shortages on industrial production and corporate profitability.

Although bargain hunters attempted to revive the market as falling share prices created increasingly attractive entry opportunities, broader uncertainty kept buying interest subdued and the negative trend persisted through the following sessions.

The mutual fund sector, however, emerged as a notable exception, attracting sustained buying interest as short-term investors sought quick gains amid the broader market weakness.

The DSEX closed at 5,515 points, down 146.8 points from 5,662 a week earlier. The DS30, comprising blue-chip stocks, declined 2.1 per cent to 2,095, while the DSES, representing Shariah-based stocks, fell 2.9 per cent to 1,105.

Market activity was mixed. Average daily turnover declined 9.0 per cent to BDT 5.54 billion from BDT 6.09 billion in the previous week, while average daily trading increased marginally by 0.4 per cent to 167,695 transactions. Average daily volume, however, fell 6.4 per cent to 199 million shares from 213 million.

Investors were most active in the textile sector, which accounted for 29.5 per cent of total turnover, followed by general insurance at 14.2 per cent and pharmaceuticals and chemicals at 10.4 per cent. Engineering stocks accounted for another 6.6 per cent, while mutual funds contributed 5.6 per cent.

Most sectors posted negative returns during the week. Ceramics led the decline, falling 5.9 per cent, followed by paper and printing at 5.6 per cent and life insurance at 5.0 per cent. Cement declined 4.8 per cent and general insurance 4.5 per cent.

Mutual funds were the only sector to post a positive return, gaining 3.7 per cent.

At the individual-stock level, Envoy Textiles emerged as the biggest gainer, rising 20.4 per cent during the week, followed by PF1STMF, which gained 20.3 per cent, and EXIM1STMF, up 13.8 per cent.

On the losing side, Al-Haj Textile fell 16.9 per cent, followed by ISN Limited with a 15.4 per cent decline and Orion Infusion, which dropped 14.7 per cent.

Sharp Industries was the most actively traded stock, accounting for BDT 235.2 million in average weekly turnover, followed by Envoy Textiles at BDT 216.9 million and Malek Spinning at BDT 164 million.

The market’s total capitalisation also declined 0.78 per cent to BDT 6,930.7 billion during the week, while the market price-to-earnings ratio fell to 10.1 from 10.3 and the price-to-book ratio declined to 1.2 from 1.3.

The sharp decline in the DSEX and the broad-based weakness across sectors indicate that investors remained largely defensive, with the energy crisis and its potential impact on production and corporate profitability continuing to dominate market sentiment.