BBN file photo
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Bangladesh’s stocks returned to the red last week that ended on Thursday, breaking a three-week winning spell as some investors sold stocks ahead of Eid festival.
Brokers said the market witnessed a mild correction as investors preferred to book quick-gain on their investment over the recent price surge while some were refraining from making fresh investment as only five trading sessions are left before Eid vacation.
The week witnessed five trading sessions as usual. Of them, first two sessions faced correction while last three managed to edge higher.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 7.42 points or 0.51 percent to settle at 5,468 points.
EBL Securities, a stockbroker, said, “The market faced some correction as the upcoming Eid festival kept most of the investors watchful”.
The two other indices also closed marginally lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, also fell 5.73 points or 0.28 percent to close at 2031. The DSE Shariah Index lost 6.42 points or 0.51 percent to close at 1,262 points.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also finished lower with its Selective Categories Index, CSCX, losing 31 points or 0.30 per cent to settle at 10,249 points.
The total turnover for the week stood at BDT 23.17 billion, registering a decline of 16.6 percent over the previous week’s BDT 27.80 billion.
The daily turnover averaged at BDT 4.63 billion, which was 16.6 percent lower than the previous week’s average of BDT 5.56 billion.
Textile sector emerged as turnover leader, contributing 19 percent of the week’s total turnover value, followed by pharmaceuticals 15 percent and bank 14 percent.
International Leasing Securities, a stockbroker said, “Stocks returned to the red last week snapping a three week gaining streak amid reduced participation of the investors”.
The stockbroker noted that the risk-averse investors continued their sell offs to avoid further loss while some adopted ‘wait-and-see’ approach ahead of Eid festival.
“Selling of shares mostly from cement, financial institution, fuel & power, engineering and telecom sectors contributed to the fall in indices during the week,” said the stockbroker.
The losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 333 issues traded, 163 closed lower, 139 closed higher and 31 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
The total market cap of the DSE also fell 0.34 percent last week as it was Tk 3,719 billion on the opening day of the week, while stood at Tk 3,706 billion on closing day of the week.
Paramount Textile topped the week’s turnover chart with about 29.31 million shares of Tk 1.06 billion changing hands, followed by BD Finance, LankaBangla Finance, Beximco Pharma and MJL Bangladesh.
Fine Foods was the week’s highest gainer, posting a 14.18 percent rise, while Purabi General Insurance was the worst loser, losing 10.17 percent.
BBN/SSR/AD