Stocks keep losing for the 4th straight session

Stocks continued its losing streak for the fourth straight session after EID holiday as most investors followed a cautious stance amid growing macroeconomic worries.

Meanwhile, DSEX, plummeted by 20.2 points and settled at 6,304 points against 6,325 points at the end of the day.

Dhaka stocks closed in the red trajectory as the prolonged bearish sentiment kept investors engaged in continuous sell-offs in absence of any major trigger for the market to bounce back, said EBL Securities.

Due to the selling pressure, bourses observed a slight increase in participation, while turnover has inched up by 2.2 per cent and stood at Tk 5.9 billion as against Tk 5.8 billion in the previous session.

Two other indices also closed in the red. The DS30 Index lost 6.29 points to close at 2,267 and the DSES Index shed 1.11 points to finish at 1,376 points.

Investors were cautious owing to the market’s persistent pessimism, which was exacerbated by reports that foreign currency reserves had fallen to a two-year low of less than USD 40 billion. In addition, the impending global economic uncertainties and commodities market volatility weakened investors’ sentiment on the bourse, it said.

On the sectoral front, Textile (15.8 per cent) issues exerted the highest turnover followed by Miscellaneous (12.9 per cent) and Fuel & Power (11.8 per cent) stocks.

Most of the sectors displayed dismal returns, out of which Travel (-1.4 per cent), Ceramic (-1.2 per cent), and Services (-1.0 per cent) exerted the most negative returns while Jute (2.2 per cent), Life Insurance (0.7 per cent), and Paper (0.3 per cent) generated some positive returns on the bourse Sunday.

Out of the 386 issues traded, 99 advanced, 236 declined, and 51 remained unchanged.

Beximco was the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 39 crore changing hands, followed by Intraco Refueling Station (29 crore), Titas Gas (Tk 16 crore), Delta Life Insurance (Tk 13 crore) and Fu-Wang Food (Tk 11 crore).

Junk stocks dominated the day’s top gainers chart with Mithun Knitting & Dyeing was the top gainer, rising 10 per cent, while the state-run DESCO was the day’s worst loser, losing 2 per cent.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI –losing nearly 72 points to settle at 18,523 point and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX –shedding almost 44 points to close at 11,099 point.

Of the issues traded, 183 declined, 67 advanced and 40 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.

The port city’s bourse traded 67 lac shares and mutual fund units with turnover value worth Tk 19 crore.