Stocks extended their losing streak for the third straight session on Monday as cautious investors continued harnessing short-term gains following the recent price gains of selective securities.
Due to this selloff pressure, small-cap stocks, which secured sharp gains in the past few days, witnessed a price correction, letting the market index close slightly lower.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), fell 4.68 points to settle at 6,337 against 6,342 in the previous session.
Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, shed 5.32 points to 2,166, and the DSES index, the Shariah-based index, dropped 4.46 points to close at 1,374.
Turnover, another crucial market indicator, plunged 15 per cent to Tk 633 crore against the tally of Tk 746 crore in the previous day.
Fu Wang Food Ltd continued to dominate the turnover chart with Tk 30 crore worth of its shares changing hands, followed by Rupali Life Insurance Company, and Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries.
The market observed a topsy-turvy swing as the core index managed to remain afloat in green territory till the mid-session, but the subsequent sale pressure led the market to close in negative terrain for the third consecutive session, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.
Insurance stocks, however, came back and eight insurers out of the top 10 gainers came from the general insurance sector.
Most sectors displayed dismal returns, with the jute faced the highest correction of 3.3 per cent, followed by tannery (1.0 per cent) and cement (0.6 per cent), while the general insurance posted the highest gain of 3.7 per cent, followed by bank (0.3 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 food and allied experiencing the highest loss of 0.22 per cent, followed by pharmaceutical (0.21 per cent), engineering (0.10 per cent), fuel and power (0.05 per cent), and NBFI (0.01 per cent).
Rupali Bank Ltd rose 9.8 per cent to become the day’s top gainer, while Aziz Pipes Ltd was the day’s worst sufferer with a loss of 7.9 per cent.
Of the issues traded, 102 closed lower, 69 closed higher, and 186 remained unchanged.
The port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed lower, with its prime index – CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) – losing 17 points to settle at 18,722.
