Stocks finish flat after bumpy trade

Dhaka stocks closed flat amid bumpy trade on Thursday after the previous session’s sharp decline.

The benchmark DSEX index started was in the positive territory briefly in the morning but moved between red and green several times throughout the session as investors played both sides of the fence.

At close, it lost over 5 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 7243, hitting a low of 53 points and a high of 19 points.

The Shariah-based DSES index saw a rise of 0.83 points or 0.05 per cent to 1,567 and the blue-chip DS30 index was marginally up 1.57 points or 0.05 per cent to 2,719. Despite, the higher-earning disclosures, the market ended in red trajectory dragged by selling in most of the large-cap sectors namely pharmaceuticals, chemicals and bank, according to the EBL Securities.

Moreover, investors remained on the sideline and reluctant to inject fresh funds due to consecutive corrections as they believe that a natural correction was overdue to clutch the prolonged bull-run of the market, it said.

Among major sectors, tannery, cement and NBFI sectors experienced price appreciation while general insurance, IT and mutual fund sectors faced correction.

The market continued to witness dull trade as the DSE turnover stood at Tk 1,434 crore, the steepest drop of more than 26 per cent over the previous session. The pharmaceutical sector dominated the turnover chart making up 13.86 per cent of total turnover.

Fortune Shoes that gained over 7 per cent was the most traded stock. The company was in favour since it

reported impressive financial improvement in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Other top traded stocks included Beximco Ltd, IFIC Bank, Orion Pharmaceuticals, NRBC Bank, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh and Delta Life Insurance.