Sale pressure pulls stocks down

Dhaka stocks failed to stay afloat owing to the selling pressure on sector-specific scrips, as cautious investors continued their profit booking and portfolio rebalancing in reaction to the recent earnings disclosure of the listed companies.

The DSEX, the broad index of the prime bourse Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), declined 7.7 points to settle at 6,262 against 6,269 in the previous trading session.

Turnover, another crucial market indicator, fell by 10.2 per cent to Tk 759 crore against the tally of Tk 846 crore in the previous session.

The market experienced volatility with investors being active on both sides of the trading fence as investors’ cautious selling spree on selective issues made the core index fail to stay afloat in green territory, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

However, investors continued to pour funds in some large-cap scrips which made excellent financial results in the just concluded quarter, it added.

The textile sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 14.3 per cent of the total turnover of the DSE, followed by IT (14.2 per cent) and food (12.3 per cent).

Most sectors displayed mixed returns, with the travel facing the highest loss of 4.2 per cent, followed by cement (2.0 per cent) and paper (0.8 per cent).

On the other hand, the jute posted the highest gain of 2.0 per cent, followed by textile (0.7 per cent) and services (0.6 per cent).

Generation Next Fashions Limited topped the DSE’s gainer list with a return of 10 per cent, while Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa Limited was the day’s worst sufferer with a loss of 8.5 per cent.

Out of the issues traded, 74 advanced, 65 declined and 253 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

The port city bourse, CSE, also settled on red terrain, with its two major indices – the selected indices (CSCX) and the all-share price index (CASPI) – declined by 5.9 points and 7.5 points respectively.