Stocks end flat as insurers save the day

Dhaka stocks on Wednesday managed to plug the heavy losses and ended flat in the final minutes as insurers saved the day.

At close, the benchmark DSEX index was slightly 2 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 6,754, reversing from the previous session’s rally.

The Shariah-based DSES index inched down 2 points or 0.18 per cent at 1,433 while the blue-chip comprising DS30 index shed 2 points 0.08 per cent at 2,536.

Out of listed 52 insurance companies, 45 gained, six declined and one remained unchanged. Of the top ten gainers, six came from the insurance sector driven by Asia Insurance surging 8.7 per cent. Bangladesh National Insurance Company Limited, Provati Insurance, Agrani Insurance, Janata Insurance, and National Life Insurance were among the top ten gainers.

Investor enthusiasm to dabble in other stocks was lacking due to the absence of positive triggers while concerns over several factors continued to sit on their mind, dissuading them to take fresh positions, dealers said.

The insurance sector got back its strength after falling in the previous few sessions as the investors bought the oversold shares.

Losers marginally outpaced the gainers as out of the 377 issues traded, 142 advanced, 186 declined, and 49 remained unchanged.

“Dhaka stocks failed to uphold the positive momentum as investors remained shaky on the bourse due to the absence of favorable macroeconomic conditions,” said EBL Securities on a note.

Pessimism on the trading activities was observed due to a host of reasons such as BB-BSEC tussle and liquidity crunch, which have kept investors on the sidelines as they prefer to observe market momentum further, it said.

Turnover increased by 17.71 per cent to Tk 767 crore backed by the miscellaneous sector that made up 15.41per cent of the total turnover.

The low-paid-up capital faced correction after rallying over the weeks since the securities regulator instructed them to raise paid-up capital up to Tk 30 crore. The top losers included Paper Processing and Packaging, Zeal Bangla, NTC, Libra Infusion, Eastern Lubricants, Gemini Sea Food and Hamid Fabrics.

Beximco Ltd was the most traded stock with shares worth almost Tk 91 crore, followed by Sonali Paper, GSP Finance, One Bank, Fortune Shoes and Asia Insurance.

The port city bourse, CSE, also settled in red terrain. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) inched down by 8.4 points and 12.8 points respectively.