Stocks dip on profit booking amid turnover surge

Snapping the market rally, Dhaka stocks fell sharply on Monday, as investors took a profit booking move following the recent steady upsurge in the market.

Although the market opened higher with opportunist investors’ continuous chase for selective lucrative shares with quick gaining potential, the late-hour sale pressure pulled down the indices significantly.

The daily turnover on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, the premier bourse, however, rose by 0.2 per cent to Tk 1,257 crore against the tally of Tk 1,254 crore in the previous trading session.

The DSEX, the broad index of the DSE, declined 9.8 points to settle at 6,356 yesterday against 6,366 in the previous trading session.

Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, declined 0.04 per cent to 2,198, and the DSES, the Shariah-based index, fell 0.05 per cent to close at 1,382.

The market opened higher owing to opportunist investors’ continuous chase for selective lucrative issues with quick gain potential. The morning optimism, however, failed to sustain owing to the heavy selling pressure starting from mid-session, causing the core index to dip into negative territory, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

The capital bourse’s benchmark index failed to stay afloat due to the dominant profit-booking sale pressure by cautious investors who opted to realise short-term gains from the recently rallied scrips, it added.

The life insurance sector topped the turnover chart with a gain of 16.3 per cent, followed by IT (13.4 per cent) and fuel (12.7 per cent).

Block trades contributed 6 per cent of the overall market turnover at the Dhaka bourse.

Sectors displayed mixed returns, with the travel facing the highest correction of 3.6 per cent, followed by jute (3.5 per cent) and general insurance (2.7 per cent).

On the other hand, the textile witnessed the highest gain of 0.4 per cent, followed by engineering (0.3 per cent) and fuel (0.2 per cent).

Bangladesh Autocars Ltd topped the gainers’ chart of the DSE with a gain of 9.9 per cent, while National Tea Company Ltd was the day’s worst sufferer with a loss of 8.7 per cent.

Out of the issues traded, 71 advanced, 111 declined, and 210 remained unchanged at Dhaka bourse.

The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also ended in red, with its two major indices – the selected indices (CSCX) and the all-share price index (CASPI) – declining by 5.3 points and 11.5 points respectively.