Stocks slipped into the red on Wednesday, with core index of the major bourse dipping below the 6,200-mark, as risk-averse investors were on selling mood.
Market insiders said small investors were cautious about fresh exposure to the market, while institutional investors followed ‘wait-and-see’ strategy ahead of year-closing, taking the core index below 6,200-mark once again.
“Price correction of some large-cap issues, including Grameenphone, Square Pharma and Brac Bank were responsible for the market fall,” said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
The market started on a downward note, and the downturn sustained till end of the session with no sign of reversal.
Finally, DSE core index fell more than 32 points at closing.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went down by 32.17 points or 0.52 per cent to settle at 6,196 after two days gain.
The two other indices also finished lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips fell 12.71 points or 0.57 per cent to close at 2,231.
The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 5.52 points or 0.40 per cent to finish at 1,365.
Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, however, rose 10 per cent to Tk 5.12 billion, compared to the previous day’s turnover of Tk 4.65 billion.
Losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 331 issues traded, 180 closed lower, 106 closed higher and 45 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
The state-run National Tubes topped the day’s turnover chart with shares of nearly Tk 184 million changing hands, closely followed by Square Pharmaceuticals, Alif Manufacturing Company, Grameenphone and City Bank.
The port city bourse also closed lower with CSE All Shares Price Index of - losing 109 points to finish at 19,182.
The Selective Categories Index of the port city bourse -- CSCX -- also lost nearly 13 points to settle at 11,596 points.
Losers beat gainers as 136 issues closed lower, 75 closed higher and 32 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 12.58 million shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 439 million in turnover.
