Stocks witnessed a downturn in early trading on Wednesday, after the previous day’s sharp gain, as cautious investors were seen busy booking profit on quick-gaining issues.
Following the previous day’s sharp rise, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 37 points within the first 15 minutes of trading at 10:15 am.
However, the upward trend reversed as the session progressed, with the DSEX going down by 10.18 points after the first hour of trading at 11:00 am when the report was filed.
Two other DSE indices also saw a negative trend till then with the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, dropping 15.40 points to stand at 2,675 and the Shariah Index (DSES) lost 3.60 points to stand at 1,481.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 4.54 billion within the first hour of trading at 11:00 am.
Market insiders said the cautious investors are booking profit on quick-gaining stocks while bargain hunters are showing their buying interest on sector-specific stocks, making the market volatile.
Of the issues traded till then, 188 advanced, 109 declined and 58 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
IFIC Bank was the most traded stock till then with shares worth Tk 580 million changing hands, closely followed by Beximco, Orion Pharma, Fortune Shoes and Genex Infosys.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also saw a downward trend till then with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—losing 64 points to stand at 20,573 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX falling 38 points to reach 12,368, also at 11:00 am.
Of the issues traded till then, 79 advanced, 62 declined, 26 remained unchanged with Tk 152 million in turnover.