Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s stocks slipped into the red last week that ended on Thruway, after remaining upbeat for the last two consecutive weeks, as risk-averse investors booked quick profits on large-cap stocks.
The week featured five trading sessions as usual. Of them, first session closed higher while last four edged down with high volatility.
Week-on-week, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), dipped below the 4,600-mark and settled the week at 4,583.42, after shedding 57.62 points or 1.24 percent.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, went down 31.14 points or 1.76 percent to finish at 1,741.09. The DSE Shariah Index shed 18.87 points or 1.68 percent to close the week at 1,105.36.
The port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also returned to the red with its Selective Categories Index - CSCX – losing 146.67 points or 1.69 percent to end at 8,505.05.
“Ripples in investors’ sentiment and apparent lack of directions prompted much more market level volatility, last week,” said IDLC Investments, a merchant bank, in its weekly market analysis.
Besides, shifts across selective large-cap and micro-cap issues sterilized the market momentum to evolve at intra-day sessions but could not sustained for long, said the merchant bank.
Trading activities remained sluggish and total turnover on the premier bourse stood at BDT 21.68 billion against BDT 25.08 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged BDT 4.33 billion, which was 14 percent lower than the previous week’s average of BDT 5.02 billion.
The losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 324 traded issues, 150 closed lower, 142 higher and 32 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor last week.
Quasem Drycells dominated the week’s turnover chart with shares of BDT 951.22 million changing hands during the week followed by BSRM Steels, Square Pharma, Delta Life Insurance and Beximco Pharma.
Hakkani Pulp and Paper was the week’s best performer, posting a rise of 26.94 percent while Far East Knitting and Dyeing Industries was the week’s worst loser, plunging by 20.83 percent.
BBN/SSR/AD