Stocks drifted lower Tuesday, snapping a three-day winning streak, as risk-averse investors opted to book quick gain.
Market operators said the market returned to the red as retail investors went for booking profits, especially banking sector issues, which triggered a selling pressure in the market.
After witnessing volatility throughout the session, the market fell sharply in the last hour of trading, finally ended more than 37 points lower.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,790 points, shedding 37.23 points or 0.63 per cent after gaining 339 points in the past three days.
The two other indices also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, went down by 10.72 points or 0.49 per cent to close at 2,166 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) fell 4.54 points or 0.33 per cent to close at 1,351 points.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, fell 7.34 per cent to Tk 5.55 billion against Tk 5.99 billion in the previous day.
The losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 336 issues traded, 218 declined, 91 advanced and 27 issues remained unchanged on the DSE floor.
Beximco dominated the turnover chart with 5.57 million shares worth Tk 150 million changing hands, followed by IFAD Autos, Beximco Pharma, City Bank and Lafarge-Holcim.
Monno Jute Stafflers was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 7.49 per cent while Nitol Insurance was the worst loser, losing 8.36 per cent.
Port city bourse also backed to the red with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI – shedding 132 points to settle at 17,848 points and Selective Categories Index – CSCX –losing 80 points to finish at 10,788.
Here too, the losers beat the gainers as 143 issues closed lower, 75 ended lower and 17 remained unchanged.
The CSE traded 11.04 million shares and mutual fund units worth nearly Tk 299 million in turnover.
