Stocks ended almost flat in the outgoing week, as cautious investors opted to book profit after some companies reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings.
The week featured five trading days as usual -- the first two days saw massive drop while the market pared the losses in the last three sessions.
Week on week, DSEX, the prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, went down by 4.03 points or 0.06 per cent to settle at 7,023. It had lost 78.14 points in the previous week.
Market analysts said the risk-averse investors booked profit on sector-wise stocks in the first two days while the bargain hunters showed their buying appetite in the later part of the week.
Rising coronavirus infections and ongoing corporate earnings declaration prompted the nervous investors to book profits earlier in the week, according to a leading broker.
However, investors went on a buying binge in the later part of the week on stocks that posted higher-than-expected quarterly earnings, he said.
The market witnessed mixed performances as investors sought to rebalance their portfolios based on earnings declarations while a section of investors went for profit-booking, commented EBL Securities.
Although the government has extended the Covid-19 curbs to February 21, strong earnings posted by the listed companies largely eased the investors' tension, said the stockbroker.
Meanwhile, the bargain hunters opted for shares of their preferred company at a lucrative price, mostly based on the latest financial updates or the anticipated ones, according to International Leasing Securities.
The stockbroker noted that the investors were mostly active on the engineering sector stocks due to the latest quarterly earnings' surge of many stocks.
A section of investors also rebalanced their portfolios based on quarterly earning declarations during the week.
More than 150 listed companies published their quarterly earnings in the outgoing week and most of them reported extraordinary growth.
During this week, the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, also shed 10 points to finish at 2,592. However, the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) advanced 4.27 points to close at 1,504.
The week's total turnover stood at Tk 64.28 billion on the prime bourse which was Tk 61.49 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 12.85 billion on the country's premier bourse, which was nearly 5.0 per cent higher than the previous week's average of Tk 12.29 billion.
Market capitalisation of the DSE also fell slightly to Tk 5,621 billion on Thursday, from Tk 5,629 billion in the week before.
Major sectors showed mixed performances. The food sector saw the highest correction of 1.0 per cent, followed by power (0.70 per cent), and financial institutions (0.40 per cent).
On the other hand, cement, engineering, telecom, banking and pharma gained 2.10 per cent, 0.80 per cent, 0.70 per cent, 0.30 per cent and 0.10 per cent respectively.
Of the 388 issues traded, 184 advanced, 166 declined and 38 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco, which lost 1.56 per cent, was the most traded stocks with shares worth Tk 4.50 billion changing hands, followed by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 2.97 billion), Union Bank (Tk 1.84 billion), Orion Pharma (Tk 1.78 billion) and LafargeHolcim (Tk 1.77 billion).
Newly listed Union Insurance was the top gainer, posting a 59.77 per cent gain, while Samorita Hospital was the worst loser, shedding 17.78 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended slightly lower, with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) shedding 10 points to settle at 20,576 while it's Selective Categories Index (CSCX) losing 7.0 points to close at 12,359.
Of the issues traded, 162 advanced, 154 declined and 33 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city's bourse traded 93.51 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 2.35 billion during the week.
