Dhaka, May 18 -- Bangladesh's stock markets witnessed a day of fluctuating trading on the second working day of the week on Sunday, with early gains in indices giving way to declines later in the morning.

Trading on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) began with a rise in indices, but after the first hour, the benchmark started to slide.

Despite an initial surge in prices for most listed companies, the sudden drop in the index led to a volatile session for both the Dhaka and Chattogram bourses.

During the first half of trading, the DSE's key index fell by 9 points. Among the other indices, the Shariah-based DSES also moved downward.

The blue-chip DS30 index, which tracks select large-cap stocks, dropped by 3 points.

Out of the 160 compani...