Stocks extended the losing streak for the two consecutive sessions on Tuesday as shaky investors continued their sell-offs on sector-wise issues.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 17.81 points or 0.36 per cent to settle at 4,928 after four and a half hours trading.
Two other indices also ended marginally lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, lost 6.76 points to finish at 1,678 and the DSE Shariah Index fell 2.82 points to close at 1,109.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, however, crossed Tk 10 billion-mark after six-session and amounted to Tk 10.68 billion, which was 10.67 per cent higher than the previous session’s turnover of Tk 9.65 billion.
Market operators said the risk-averse investors continued their sell-offs on sector-wise stocks for booking profit which saw significant gain in the past few weeks.
Many investors also moved to the primary market as the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) approved a good number of initial public offerings in the past two months, said a leading broker.
Losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 355 issues traded, 187 ended lower, 15 closed higher while 53 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
A total number of 205,804 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with a trading volume of 414.24 million shares and mutual fund units.
The insurance sector dominated the turnover chart with Continental Insurance topped the turnover list with shares worth Tk 355 million changing hands, closely followed by Express Insurance, Beximco, BD Finance and Pioneer Insurance.
Hamid Fabrics was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 9.79 per cent while Republic Insurance was the worst loser, losing 8.15 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended lower with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—losing 61 points to close at 14,085 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX shedding 39 points to close at 8,462.
Of the issues traded, 127 declined, 107 advanced and 45 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 13.29 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of more than Tk 360 million.