Stocks fail to retain bullish trend

The premier bourse Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) failed to sustain the recovery trend on Wednesday as investors went for offloading their shares in a bid to secure short-term gains following the market gains in the two previous sessions.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the capital bourse, dropped 2.26 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 6,214.

Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, fell 2.6 per cent or 0.12 per cent to close at 2,218, and the DSES, the Shariah-based index suffered 1.9 points or 0.14 per cent to 1,357.

Turnover, another crucial market indicator, rose by 7.5 per cent to Tk 452 crore against the tally of Tk 420 crore in the previous trading session.

The IT sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 16.03 per cent to the total turnover of the DSE, followed by the life insurance (15.04 per cent), and food & allied (9.47 per cent).

The market witnessed mixed reactions on the day as the session began with an upbeat momentum, but the morning optimism faded as risk-averse investors rushed booking profits, enticed by the recent price appreciation of selective issues, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

Opportunist investors, however, continued taking fresh bets in beaten down issues with anticipation of quick gains since they expected any positive regulatory decision would come for the revive of the market, it added.

Insurance sector buoyant

Yesterday was the National Insurance Day. And insurance securities were in much demand on the

trading floor, with the general insurance sector posting the highest gain of 1.5 per cent, followed by life insurance (0.4 per cent), and tannery (0.3 per cent).

On the other hand, the paper sector faced the highest correction of 2.4 per cent, followed by travel (1.4 per cent) and jute (0.9 per cent).

Bangladesh General Insurance Company Ltd topped the gainer list with a return of 10 per cent, while Orion Infusion Ltd was the day’s worst sufferer with a loss of 6.3 per cent.

Out of the securities traded, 68 stocks advanced, 80 issues declined and 243 scrips did not see any movement on the DSE trading floor.

The port city bourse, CSE, however, settled on green terrain, with its two major indices – the selected indices (CSCX), and the all-share price index (CASPI) – edged up by 7.0 points and 10.4 points respectively.