Stocks dip on profit booking

Snapping the long spell of gaining streak, Dhaka stocks dipped on Sunday as investors inclined to sell their shares in hope of booking profits following the market gains in the past nine consecutive trading sessions.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), fell 11.4 points to settle at 6,263 against 6,274 in the previous trading session.

Meanwhile, the turnover of the premier bourse plunged by 28.4 per cent to Tk 693 crore against the turnover tally of Tk 967 crore in the previous session.

The food and allied sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 15.1 per cent of the total turnover of the DSE, followed by IT (13.9 per cent) and travel (12.8 per cent). Unique Hotel & Resorts PLC was the day’s most traded stock with Tk 53.5 crore worth of its shares changing hands, followed by Eastern Housing Limited, and aamra networks limited.

Most sectors displayed dismal returns, with the travel facing the highest correction of 4.1 per cent, followed by jute (3.8 per cent) and IT (2.6 per cent).

On the other hand, cement sector posted the highest gain of 3.4 per cent, followed by services (1.4 per cent) and bank (0.5 per cent).

Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Ltd topped the DSE’s gainer chart with a return of 22.6 per cent, while Apex Foods Limited was the day’s worst sufferer with a loss of 8.7 per cent.