Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Bangladesh’s stocks ended almost flat in the red territory on Thursday as late hour sale pressure wiped out all the initial gains.
The market opened with an upward note, advancing around 22 points within first 25 minutes of trading, but rest of the session fell steadily, eventually closed in the flat zone.
As the session ended, DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled the last session of the week at 4,553.78, shedding 0.0.76 point or 0.02 percent.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, also fell 0.46 point or 0.03 percent to settle at 1,779.29 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 1.56 points or 0.14 percent to close at 1,114.25 points.
Turnover, the important indicator of the market, however, improved to BDT 4.08 billion on DSE, which was 18 percent higher than the previous day’s BDT 3.45 billion.
The losers took a modest lead over the gainers, as out of 324 issues traded, 140 closed lower, 119 closed higher and 65 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Bangladesh Steel Re-rolling Mills dominated the turnover chart for the second day in a row with shares worth nearly BDT 222 million changing hands, followed by Beximco Pharmaceuticals BDT 186 million, MJL Bangladesh BDT 171 million, ACME Laboratories with BDT 164 million and Shahjibazar Power Company BDT 157 million.
Wata Chemicals was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 10 percent, while Dulamia Cotton was the worst loser, slumping by 5.80 percent.
However, the port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) ended marginally higher with its Selective Categories Index- CSCX –advancing 11.80 points to finish at 8,528.13 points
Losers beat gainers 116 to 99, with 39 issues remaining unchanged on the port city bourse that traded 9.85 million shares and mutual fund units with a value of BDT 269 million.
BBN/SSR/BB