Stocks extended the losing streak for the two consecutive sessions on Thursday as risk-averse investors continued to book profit on quick-gaining stocks, particularly on Grameenphone.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 15.02 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 5,108.
Two other indices also edged lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, shed 7.42 points to finish at 1,798 and the DSE Shariah Index lost 5.43 points to close at 1,180.
Market analysts said many investors opted for booking profit on sector-wise multinational companies stocks as many companies stocks have seen a rise by 10-15 per cent in the past few days.
Among the multinational stocks, the heavyweight GP took a big hit as its share price plunged 3.02 per cent, contributing 25 points fall of DSE core index alone, according to data of amarstock.com, a stock market data analyst.
GP shares tumbled following the news that the police filed a case against the telecom operator under the telecommunication act on charges of providing personal and confidential information of its customers to others who use these for blackmailing them, said a leading broker.
The case was filed with Hatirjeel police station on Tuesday where a customer service employee and a woman were accused among others.
Other top negative index contributors of the market were Marico Berger Paints, BATBC and Brac Bank.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, also plunged more than 27 per cent to Tk 7.05 billion on Thursday.
Losers took a strong lead over the gainers, as out of 355 issues traded, 186 ended lower, 92 higher and 77 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
A total number of 147,968 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with a trading volume of 233.81 million shares and mutual fund units.
The DSE market–cap also fell to Tk 4,169 billion on Thursday, from Tk 4,180 billion in the previous day.
Beximco topped the turnover chart with 14.05 million shares worth Tk 451 million changing hands, closely followed by Beximco Pharma, IFIC Bank, National Polymer and Dominage Steel Building Systems.
National Polymer Industries was the day’s best performer, posting a 9.98 per cent following the news that the stock market regulator approved the company’s rights offer application while Aman Feed was the worst loser, losing 6.55 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—losing 53 points to close at 14,670 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX shedding 32 points to close at 8,837.
Of the issues traded, 133 declined, 66 advanced and 66 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 13.61 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of nearly Tk 582 million.
