Stock market returned to negative territory on Sunday after showing ceaseless strength in the past nine consecutive trading sessions when daily transactions and prices indices were strong. The broader DSEX price index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) lost nearly 22 points to come below the 4800-point mark and settled at 4786.49 when the blue-chip DS30 and Shariah DSES finished the day down at 1876.90 and 1186.80 accordingly. Market analysts attributed the fall to the earning news of different companies that were failed to meet their expectations. "Stocks came under pressure over the course of the trading day after initially showing a lack of direction amid mixed performance declared by the banks, pharma and construction material stocks", said Lanka Bangla Securities Limited (LBSL). Banking stocks saw large trading volume in reaction to the earnings news, LBSL said. Among the major sectors bank, mutual fund, telecom and textile gained while cement, fuel and power, NBFI and pharma were down. The daily trade value at DSE declined by 7.25 percent to Taka 754.90 crore, but the volume was up by 1.76 percent to 1.77 crore shares due to higher selling. At DSE 113 securities gained and 168 declined, while 37 remained unchanged. The top five advancing issues were BD Welding, BD Lamps, OAL, Prime Bank and Zaheen Spinning when the major losers were Far East Life, BD Services, Linde Bangladesh, Imam Button and Shympur Sugar. Lafarge Surma topped the turnover list followed by KPCL, ACI, SPCL, GP and SHASHA Denim. Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also finished week in red, with major CSCX index closing 33.46 points down at 8931.78. Out of the traded 244 issues, 123 advanced, 87 incurred loss and 34 remained static when 1.34 crore shares worth Taka 53.71 crore changed hands. -BSS