, March 24 -- Trading on Bangladesh's stock markets resumed after the Eid holidays with a sharp fall in indices, as most shares declined on the Dhaka bourse.

At the close of trading, the benchmark DSEX index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dropped by 68 points. The Shariah-based DSES index lost 7 points, while the blue-chip DS30 index fell by 39 points.

Market breadth remained negative: 243 companies declined against 121 gainers, while 27 issues remained unchanged.

Turnover at the DSE stood at Tk 492 crore. In the block market, shares worth Tk 15 crore from 22 companies were traded, with Al-Arafah Islami Bank PLC leading the segment with nearly Tk 4 crore in transactions.

The top gainers' list was dominated entirely by mutual funds,...