DSEX ends three-day rally

Dhaka stocks closed in red on Sunday with the benchmark index breaking its three-day rally as investors booked profits on early surges.

The market opened flat but witnessed volatility in the early hours before accelerating the fall at close pulled down by profit-taking selling pressure.

The benchmark DSEX index was down 65 points or 0.94 per cent to close at 6,930, hitting a high of 7,026 and a low of 6,923.

The Shariah-based index dropped 12 points or 0.85 per cent to 1,464 while the blue-chip comprising DS30 index shed almost 25 points or 0.93 per cent to 2,655.

Share of Acme Pesticides—the agricultural product input makers and distributors---hit the upper limit circuit at 10 per cent on its debut day. The company, a subsidiary of Singa Group, raised funds form the stock market to expand its business.

Another newly listed Sena Kalyan Insurance Company gained for the third session. Its shares were also locked in the upper limit circuit.

Share of BRAC Bank continued to show muscle rising 5.54 per cent after hitting upper limit circuit since Thursday on the news that Japan’s SoftBank agreed to buy a 20 per cent stake in bKash, a subsidiary of the bank.

The recent volatility made the investors cautious, leading to the decline in turnover that stood at Tk 1,506 crore, sharply 26.22 per cent down from the previous session’s Tk 1,111 crore.

“The capital market returned to red trajectory since profit-taking came into action as lower-than-expected expected quarterly earnings of many companies made investors cautious on the trading bourse,” said the EBL Securities in its market analysis.

Beximco, one of the market heavyweights, exacerbated market correction as the stock observed price correction despite declaring a substantial upsurge in earnings, it added.

Rally in BRAC Bank, Grameenphone, BSRM Steel, and Beacon Pharma helped the market from falling further.

Beximco was the most traded stock, followed by BRACK Bank, Orion Pharmaceuticals, IFIC Bank, Gnex Infosys, SAIF Powertec, BATBC and NRB Bank.

The sectors that suffered heavy selling pressure included cement, travel, and ceramic while tannery, IT, and bank landed in the positive terrain.