Dhaka stocks fell for the third day on the back of a writ petition challenging the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ahmed Rashid, senior vice president of DSE said the market would not stabilise until the court settles the matter once and for all.

“Unresolved court issues and political instability continued to undermine investors' confidence level,” said IDLC Investments about the downward trend in the market.

Turnover rose 14.76 percent, compared to Tk 156 crore of the previous day. A total of 0.45 lakh trades were executed, with 3.45 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands on the Dhaka bourse.

Of the 257 issues that traded on DSE, 138 declined, 94 advanced and 25 remained unchanged.

During yesterday's downtrend pharmaceuticals lost the most among the major sectors, falling by 1.34 percent. Power at 1.24 percent, non-bank financial institutions at 1.03 percent, telecommunications at 0.49 percent and banks at 0.45 percent were the other notable losers.

Lafarge Surma Cement topped the turnover chart with 31.60 lakh shares worth Tk 13.21 crore, followed by Social Islami Bank and Grameenphone.

Exim Bank was the biggest gainer of the day, recording a 5-percent gain. Pragati Life Insurance fell the most at 7.45 percent.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 12th June 2012