Stocks slipped into the red on Thursday, the last trading day before Eid holidays, as cautious investors opted for booking profit amid ongoing corporate declarations.
Trading and official activities on the bourses will remain closed from April 29 to May 4, including weekly holidays, on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of the Muslims.
DSEX, the prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, went down by 21.97 points or 0.32 per cent to settle at 6,655, after remaining flat the previous day.
Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, stood at 8.69 billion on the country’s premier bourse, falling 6.75 per cent over the previous day’s four-week highest turnover of Tk 9.32 billion.
Market analysts said the risk-averse investors opted for booking profit on sector-specific stocks which failed to meet investors’ expectations in the latest corporate declarations.
Two other indices also ended lower. The DSE30 Index, comprising blue chips, fell 5.39 points to finish at 2,460 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) shed 6.45 points to close at 1,446.
Of the 380 traded, 241 declined, 90 advanced and 49 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
A total number of 174,579 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with a trading volume of 200.49 million shares and mutual fund units.
The market-cap of DSE also dropped to Tk 5.369 trillion on Thursday, down from Tk 5,391 trillion in the previous session.
Beximco topped the turnover list with shares of Tk 545 million changing hands, followed by JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing (Tk 483 million), GPH Ispat (Tk 420 million), Unique Hotel & Resorts (Tk 292 million), and Nahee Aluminum Composite Panel (Tk 222 million).
Summit Alliance Port was the day’s top gainer, posting a 9.74 per cent gain, while SBAC Bank was the day’s worst loser, losing 5.92 per cent following its corporate declarations.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI –losing 138 points to settle at 19,474 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX –shedding 83 points to close at 11,684.
Of the issues traded, 193 declined, 62 advanced and 30 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port-city bourse traded 10.55 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value worth Tk 352 million.
