Stocks extended losses for the second straight day on Thursday as investors were on selling binge amid lower than expected earnings disclosures of a number of companies.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 12.13 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 4,469.
Market analysts said poor earnings declared by a number of companies hit the investors’ confidence and they went on selling binge.
A leading merchant banker said many investors remained worried about the recent volatility of the market and maintaining cautious stance while poor earnings declaration prompted them to sell-offs.
Two other indices also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, lost 2.40 points to finish at 1,524 and the DSE Shariah Index also saw a fractional loss of 0.42 point to close at 1,028.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, remained same and amounted to Tk 4.39 billion, which was also Tk 4.39 billion in the previous day.
Losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 355 issues traded, 195 closed lower, 109 ended higher and 51 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
A total number of 131,996 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with trading volume of 156.20 million shares and mutual fund units.
The market-cap of the DSE also fell to Tk 3,408 billion, from Tk 3,421 billion in the previous session.
LafargeHolcim continued to top the turnover chart with shares worth Tk 500 million changing hands, followed by ADN Telecom, Paramount Textile, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation and Indo-Bangla Pharma.
Metro Spinning Mills was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 9.52 per cent while ACI Ltd was the worst loser, losing 7.62 per cent following its poor earnings declaration.
The port city’s bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange, also ended lower with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—shedding 77 points to close at 13,586 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX –losing 47 points to finish at 8,235.
Here too, the losers beat gainers, as 143 issues closed lower, 73 ended higher and 25 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 8.56 million shares and mutual fund units worth nearly Tk 181 million in turnover.