Stocks fall amid trading disruption

All major indices in Bangladesh dropped yesterday after an error that saw the withdrawal of the circuit breaker for all stocks at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) delayed the starting of the trading session. 

The beginning of the trading session was delayed by one and a half hours as the bourse had lifted the circuit breaker for all securities instead of 70 companies that declared their earnings a day earlier, said the exchange in a press release.

Currently, firms listed on the two exchanges of the country are allowed to go up by a maximum of 10 per cent and go down by a maximum of 2 per cent in a single day. But a day after a corporate disclosure is made, no price cap is applied. 

The interruption prompted the DSE to extend the trading duration by 15 minutes. So, the market closed at 2:30pm yesterday, instead of 2:15pm usually. 

Still, the DSEX, the benchmark index of the premier bourse, lost 43 points, or 0.68 per cent, to close at 6,334.

The DS30, the blue-chip index, fell 0.90 per cent to 2,245 while the DSES, the shariah-based index, was down 0.90 per cent at 1,389.

Of the securities, 44 advanced, 91 declined and 231 remained unchanged. Turnover plunged 24 per cent to Tk 826 crore.

The three-day winning streak ended as cautious investors booked some profits on quick-gaining issues amid the revised trading hours, said International Leasing Securities Ltd, a brokerage house, in its daily market review.

Among the sectors, general insurance was up 1.8 per cent, ceramic rose 0.7 per cent, and IT added 0.5 per cent.

The service sector witnessed a 2.7 per cent correction, while the jute sector fell 2.2 per cent.

Navana Pharmaceuticals topped the gainers' list, advancing 78 per cent. Chartered Life Insurance, Eastern Cables, Hakkani Pulp, and Bangladesh National Insurance surged more than 8 per cent.

Agricultural Marketing Company (Pran) suffered the highest fall, dropping 11 per cent. BDCOM Online, Rangpur Foundry, Indo-Bangla Pharmaceuticals, and JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing were also among the major losers.

Navana Pharmaceuticals was the most-traded stock, with its shares worth Tk 65 crore transacted. Beximco Ltd, Anwar Galvanizing, Orion Pharma, and Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa also witnessed significant turnover.

The Caspi, the all-share price index of the Chittagong Stock Exchange, dropped 86 points, or 0.46 per cent, to end at 18,692.

Of the issues that traded on the bourse in the port city, only 46 advanced, 62 declined, and 121 did not show any price movement.