Stocks break four-day rally

Dhaka stocks snapped a four-day rally on Monday as investors opted for booking quick profits.

The market kicked off on a positive note in the morning but started to decline until the close of the trade.

The benchmark DSEX index shed 12 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 7,051 pulled down particularly by textile, pharmaceuticals and engineering sectors.

Its junior partners the Shariah-based DSES index was down 4 points or 0.29 per cent to 1,509 while the blue-chip DS30 index dropped nearly 4 points or 0.14 per cent to 2,607.

“Indices cooled down as investors' profit-booking sell pressure in the late session reversed the early momentum of the market and the equity indices of the capital bourse settled in the red trajectory,” said the EBL Securities in a note.

The recent price surge of most the stocks has incited investors to engage in selling shares, on the other hand, bargain hunters showed buying appetite in selective issues ahead of the December-end earnings declarations, it said.

However, investors' participation advanced a bit while total turnover has increased by almost 7 per cent to over Tk 1,427 crore over the previous session.

Miscellaneous accounted for 14.2 per cent of the total turnover, followed by pharmaceuticals 12.2 per cent and general insurance 10.6 per cent.

The majority of the sectors displayed mixed performance. Out of which, services gained highest 2.9 per cent, followed by general insurance 2 per cent, and travel 1.3 per cent.

Among other sectors, textile, pharmaceuticals, financials, telecom, food, paper, and ceramic faced the most corrections on the bourse.

Out of the 385 issues traded, 133 advanced, 192 declined, and 60 remained unchanged.

Yeakin Polymer came to the spotlight hitting the upper limit circuit at 10 per cent ahead of its board meeting scheduled for February 10. It was the top gainer followed by Union Insurance, BD Thai Food & Beverage, Takaful Islami Insurance, and Summit Alliance Port.

The port city bourse, CSE, also plunged in red terrain. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) have declined by 26.5 points and 46.2 points respectively.