Investors in dejection as Bangladesh's stocks plunge. BBN file photo
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s stocks extended the losing spell for the five consecutive sessions on Thursday as cautious investors continued their selling binge on sector specific stocks.
Market operators said the market failed to break the losing streak, despite early morning enthusiasm, as investors went on late hours selling spree.
Following the previous day’s marginal correction, the key index of the country’s prime bourse fell 2.65 points while the Selective Category Index of port city bourse advanced 30 points within first 15 minutes of trading at 10:45am.
After 30 minutes of trading, the DSEX stands at 5,518, advancing 6.86 points, while the Selective Category Index of port city bourse rose 25 points.
After that it started to decline and the downward trend continued till end of the session, finally ended nearly 15 points lower.
The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dipped below the 5500-mark after six trading sessions and settled at 5496 points, losing 14.84 points or 0.26 percent over the previous session.
The two other indices also faced marginal correction. The DS30 index, comprising the blue-chips, fell 2.22 points or 0.26 percent to settle at 2024 points.
The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 1.04 points or 0.08 percent to close at 1273 points.
Turnover, an important indicator of the market, came down to BDT 6.87 billion, which was 11 percent lower than the previous day’s BDT 7.74 billion.
The losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of the 326 issues traded on the DSE floor, prices of 163 securities declined, 126 advanced and 37 remained unchanged.
Doreen Power topped the turnover chart with shares of nearly BDT 403 million changing hands, closely followed by LankaBangla Finance BDT 234 million, ONE Bank BDT 225 million, Evince Textile BDT 195 million and Bangladesh Shipping Corporation BDT 156 million.
Northern Insurance was the day’s top gainer, posting a gain of 8.73 percent while Fareast Finance and Investment was the worst lower, losing 9.40 percent.
The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also ended lower with its Selective Categories Index - CSCX – losing 40 points to settle at 10,318 points.
Losers beat gainers as 131 issues closed lower, 81 closed higher and 25 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city bourse traded 12.81 million shares and mutual fund units worth BDT 354 million in turnover.
BBN/SSR/SR