Dhaka stocks failed to break out of the downbeat vibe and settled in red territory for the third consecutive session on Monday owing to investors’ sale dominance as they opted to safeguard their funds from the prevailing volatility in the market.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), edged down by 1.8 points to settle at 6,284 points against 6,286 in the previous trading session.
Meanwhile, investors’ participation remained sluggish in the market, with the daily turnover of the prime bourse plunging by 16.8 per cent to Tk 446 crore against the tally of Tk 536 crore in the previous session.
The general insurance sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 29.6 per cent of the total turnover of the Dhaka bourse, followed by food and allied (16.7 per cent) and life insurance (7.6 per cent).
Fu Wang Food Ltd was the most traded stock with Tk 35 crore worth of its shares changing hands, followed by Crystal Insurance Company Limited, and Miracle Industries Ltd.
Investors’ sale dominance extended from the previous session due to shaky confidence across the trading floor eroding investment appetite in the capital market amidst uncertain market momentum, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.
Nevertheless, a section of investors preferred to chase selective rumor-based scrips with quick gain potential, prompting the prime index to end on a flat note, it added.
Most sectors displayed dismal returns, with the paper facing the highest correction of 1.7 per cent, followed by life insurance (0.8 per cent) and jute (0.7 per cent), while the travel posted the highest gain of 3.3 per cent, followed by general insurance (0.7 per cent) and tannery (0.2 per cent), according to EBL Securities.
As per the daily market review of Brac-EPL Stock Brokerage, most large-cap sectors posted negative performance, with the bank experiencing the highest loss of 0.04 per cent, followed by pharmaceutical (0.03 per cent), engineering (0.03 per cent), NBFI (0.02 per cent), and food and allied (0.00%).
Crystal Insurance Company Limited rose 9.9 per cent to become the day’s top gainer, while Central Pharmaceuticals Limited fell 5.5 per cent becoming the worst sufferer.
Out of the 392 issues traded, 67 advanced, 81 declined and 244 remained unchanged.
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) – inching down 3.0 points and 5.2 points respectively.
