Dhaka, May 8 -- The escalating conflict between India and Pakistan has taken a toll on investor sentiment in Bangladesh, triggering a sharp downturn in the country's stock markets.

On Wednesday (May 7), the fourth trading day of the week, both the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) recorded significant declines in their key indices as trading progressed.

According to sources from both DSE and CSE, the DSEX, the main index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, fell by 70 points to 4,881 within the first 30 minutes of trading at 10:30 AM.

The DSE Shariah Index dropped 18 points to 1,070, and the DS30 index declined by 16 points to 1,816. During this time, shares and mutual fund units worth BDT 1.38 billion were tra...