Profit taking pulls stocks down

Dhaka stocks closed lower amid volatility on Monday as investors opted for booking profits.

The trading initially swung between red and green as investors played both sides of the fence. After mid-session, the indices closed in red on profit-booking sale pressure.

The benchmark DSEX index fell 58 points or 0.90 per cent to settle at 6,431, extending losses for the second straight session.

Two other junior indexes also closed lower. The blue-chip index DS30 edged down 17 points or 0.77 per cent to 2,285 while the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, was down 5 points or 0.4 per cent to 1,404.

The DSE turnover stood at Tk 1,400 crore, sharply down 40 per cent from the previous day's one year high of Tk 2,296 crore.

The equity indices of the Dhaka bourse tumbled as investors continued their profit-booking sell-offs for the second consecutive session, forcing majority of the stocks to witness intense corrections on every sectoral front, said the EBL Securities in its post-market commentary.

The market observed see-saw trading right from the start of the session, which turned into a free-fall in the latter part of the session resulting from dominant selling pressures across the bourse as investors became wary about protecting their unrealized profits from the ailing market, it said.

Losers took a strong lead over the gainers, as out of 369 issues traded, 263 closed lower, 38 higher and 68 others remained unchanged.

Almost all the sectors displayed dismal returns. Out of which services (-5.1 per cent), paper (4.9 per cent), and jute (-3.7 per cent) exhibited the most corrections on the bourse today, while only life insurance (0.8 per cent), and engineering (0.6 per cent) exerted some positive returns.

The port city bourse, CSE, also settled in red territory. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) plunged by 106.5 and 177.4 points respectively.