DSEX snaps four-day rally

The benchmark index DSEX snapped the four-day winning streak on Monday as investors booked modest profits mainly on mutual funds and financials.

The index opened on a positive note in the morning but swung between red and green throughout the session.

It traded between the intraday high of 50 points and a low of 25 points in volatile trade as traders engaged in alternative bouts and profit-taking.

At close, it lost 22 points or 0.30 per cent to 7,345, after crossing the 7,400-mark in the morning.

The Shariah-based DSES index saw a fractional rise of 0.11 points or 0.007 per cent to 1,596 while the blue-chip comprising DS30 index witnessed fell 8 points or 0.30 per cent to 2,757.

Major contribution to prevent the index further down came from Lafarge Holcim Bangladesh, up 4.68 per cent, Walton Hi-Tech Industries, up nearly 1 per cent, BATBC, up 0.46 per cent, Orion Pharma, up over 7 per cent, Square Pharmaceuticals, up 0.63 per cent and ACI, up over 5 per cent.

The highest profit booking took place on mutual funds which stole the show in the previous session. Jute, NBFI, energy, bank, telecom and general insurance also witnessed profit-booking.

In the falling market, the cement sector shined surging more than 3 per cent, led by Lafarge Holcim. Other low-cap sectors such as tannery, paper and printing, life insurer, engineering closed in the positive territory.

The volume of trade continued to dip by about 6 per cent to Tk 1,849 crore. Lafarge Holcim attracted most investors, followed by Orion Pharma, Beximco Ltd, IFIC, Power Grid, BATBC and Maksons Spinning Mills.

The pharmaceutical sector accounted for over 18 per cent of the total turnover, followed by textile 13.6 per cent, energy 11 per cent, and engineering 10 per cent.

Shepherd Industries was the top gainer hitting almost the upper limit circuit at 9.65 per cent while Metro Spinning was the worst loser tanking about 9 per cent.