Stocks ended almost flat on Tuesday after volatile trading as investors mostly followed a cautious stance ahead of the national budget.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal is set to unveil the national budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2021-2021 on Thursday next.
Market analysts said investors are cautiously monitoring and waiting for the upcoming budget announcements before making any further investment decisions.
The market opened sharply higher on Tuesday. The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) surpassed the 6,000-mark again. But the index failed to sustain that level amid selling pressure.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the DSE, went up by 2.34 points or 0.03 per cent to settle at 5,993, after losing 17.70 points in the previous day.
The market capitalisation of the DSE continued to rise, hitting a fresh all-time high at Tk 5,041 billion on Tuesday, surpassing the previous day’s record high of Tk 5,038 billion.
Two other indices, however, ended in the red. The DSE 30 Index fell 12.18 points to finish at 2,193. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) dropped 2.12 points to close at 1,284.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 19.03 billion, which was 9.62 per cent higher than the previous day’s tally of Tk 17.36 billion.
Losers took a modest lead over the gainers, as out of 366 issues traded, 154 declined, 149 advanced and 63 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco - the flagship company of Beximco Group- continued to dominate the turnover chart with shares worth about Tk 1.02 billion changing hands, followed by NRB Commercial Bank (Tk 543 million), Pioneer Insurance (Tk 479 million), Green Delta Insurance (Tk 475 million) and IFAD Autos (Tk 438 million).
Pragati Insurance was the day’s best performer, posting a 20.90 per cent gain, following its record 30 per cent cash dividend news while MBL First Mutual Fund was the worst loser, losing 9.90 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended marginally higher with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI –gaining 16 points to settle at 17,375 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX advancing 10 points to close at 10,472.
Of the issues traded, 130 advanced, 129 declined and 39 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city’s bourse traded 28.19 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 924 million.
babulfexpress@gmail.com