A newly filed writ petition challenging key appointments within the Election Commission has coincided with a downturn in the country’s primary stock market, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), where trading closed on Wednesday with a negative trend across major index.

On the fourth working day of the week, DSE experienced broad-based losses. Share prices of 236 companies fell, and total trading turnover surpassed Tk 405 crore, according to DSE sources.

Market data show that the benchmark index DSEX dropped by 23.42 points, settling at 4,927 points. The DSES index declined by 4.82 points to 1,034, while the blue-chip DS-30 index fell by 7.86 points to 1,898.

A total of 394 companies’ shares and units changed hands during the session. Among them, 93 companies posted gains, while 236 ended lower, and 65 remained unchanged.

Turnover rose compared to the previous session, which had recorded Tk 379 crore 7 lakh 34 thousand in transactions. The rise in activity, coupled with the downward pressure on prices, reflects heightened uncertainty in the market amid ongoing legal proceedings relating to the election administration.