DSEX falls for 4th straight day, turnover dips to 4-month low

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) continued to lose ground on Wednesday as the benchmark DSEX closed its fourth successive session in the red.

The market oscillated between positive and negative until mid-session but the late hour selling pressure accelerated the fall of the index.

At close, the index lost 56 points or 0.8 per cent to settle at 6,898—its lowest since October 25 this year.

The Shariah-based DSES index was down about 7 points or 0.47 per cent to 1,461 and the blue-chip DS30 index lost 20 points or 0.77 per cent to 2,585. Amid the persistent volatility, investors preferred to stay on the sidelines, pushing the volume of trade down sharply.

The DSE volume of trade by value stood at over Tk 1,154 crore, down about 11 per cent over the previous session. The figure is the lowest since June 29 when it was Tk 1,148 crore. Textile sector accounted for 17 per cent, miscellaneous over 14 per cent, and pharmaceuticals over 13 per cent of the total turnover.

All the sectors fell across the board as risk-averse investors booked quick profits on some issues. Food, ceramics, engineering, and real estate got hurt the most. Selling pressure was also observed in textile, insurers, telecom and financial sectors.

“Leveraged positions of investors, particularly institutional, played havoc on market, cautioning small investors,” said a dealer. “Most of the investors remained on the sideline and observed the market movement as they perceived that the market may remain volatile in the forthcoming sessions,” said the EBL Securities in its market analysis.

The major losers included Alif Manufacturing Company, Shahjibazar Power Co, Shepherd Industries, Mozaffaar Spinning Mills, Fareast Finance and Investment, Prime Textile Spinning Mills, and Orion Pharmaceuticals.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Lamps was the day’s best performing company hitting the upper limit circuit, followed by Gemini Sea Food, Pharma Aid, Kattali Textile, Dacca Dyeing, and National Feed Limited.

The top traded stocks included Beximco Ltd, Orion Pharmaceuticals, IFIC Bank, British American Tobacco Company, Delta Life Insurance, Lafarge Holcim Bangladesh and Kattali Textile.