Stocks witnessed another flat session on Wednesday as investors mostly followed cautious stance amid the ongoing year-end dividend declarations.
The market opened on a positive note and the core index rose about 23 points within the first 15 minutes of trading. But the rest of the session eroded almost all the initial gains.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), saw a fractions gain of 0.11 point to settle at 6,765, after gaining 1.54 points in the previous day.
Two other indices, however, edged lower with the DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, shed 0.48 point to finish at 2,458 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) fell 2.34 points to close at 1,454.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, also dropped to Tk 8.35 billion, which was 21 per cent lower than the previous day’s tally of Tk 10.65 billion.
Market insiders said the cautious investors opted for booking profit on sector-wise stocks while some took positions on lucrative stocks, taking the market index almost flat.
Losers took a strong lead over the gainers, as out of 380 issues traded, 228 declined, 119 advanced and 33 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco topped the turnover list with shares worth Tk 624 million changing hands, closely followed by BDCOM Online (Tk 395 million), Aamra Technologies (Tk 236 million), GBB Power (Tk 199 million) and Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 176 million).
Gemini Sea Food was the top gainer, posting a 8.73 per cent gain while Robi Axiata was the worst loser, losing 3.59 per cent following its ‘poor’ dividend and earnings declarations.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) edged down with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI –losing 3.98 points to settle at 19,821 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX – shedding 3.05 points to close at 11,890.
Of the issues traded, 192 declined, 82 advanced and 27 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city’s bourse traded 10.43 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value worth Tk 232 million.
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