Stocks end flat amid sale pressure

Dhaka stocks end flat on Sunday, the first trading session of the week, as sellers reined in the trading floor, causing the key index to close marginally higher.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the prime bourse Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), edged up 0.18 points to settled at 6269.3 against 6269.1 in the previous trading session.

Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, dropped 0.81 points to 2203, while the DSES, the shariah-compliant index, rose 0.77 points to close at 1368.

Turnover, another crucial indicator of the market, fell by 2 per cent to Tk 846 crore, against the tally of Tk 863 crore in the previous session.

The recent uptrend in the market, according to stockbrokers, prompted cautious investors to secure their short-term gains, leading to the offloading of shares that failed to break out of their poor financial performance.

Meanwhile, many investors opted to rebalance their portfolios by injecting funds into those companies’ shares which had displayed healthy earnings in the just-concluded quarter, they added.

Moreover, fresh worries that erupted concerning the country’s recent macroeconomic states owing to the depleting remittance inflows as well as export earnings, prompted investors to secure short-term gains instead of taking long-term bets, another reason behind the market’s downward trend, analysts said.

However, price appreciation in some sector-specific large-cap issues helped the core index avoid massive plunge, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

Most sectors displayed negative returns, with the travel facing the highest correction of 6.5 per cent, followed by IT (2.5 per cent) and services (1.5 per cent).

On the other hand, the cement sector posted the highest gain of 2.6 per cent, followed by miscellaneous (0.7 per cent) and bank (0.4 per cent).

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation was the day’s most traded stock with Tk 49 crore worth of its shares changing hands, followed by Eastern Housing Limited, and Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa Limited.

Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries topped the DSE’s gaining chart with a return of 9.9 per cent, while Eastern Bank Ltd was the day’s worst sufferer with a loss of 11.2 per cent.

Of the securities traded, 61 stocks advanced, 76 securities declined and 210 scrips remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.