Dhaka, Dec. 18 -- Trading at both the Dhaka and Chattogram stock exchanges began on a negative note on Thursday, with key indices falling in the first hour amid declines in most company prices.

The benchmark DSEX at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) shed 17 points.

The Shariah-based DSES fell by 5 points, while the blue-chip DS-30 index lost 8 points.

Out of the traded issues, prices declined for 217 companies against gains for 81, while 86 remained unchanged.

The turnover at the DSE crossed Tk 127 crore in shares and units during the first half of the session.

Bangladesh stocks slide on week's opening day at DSE, CSE

The downtrend also persisted at the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), where the general index dropped by 44 points.

At ...