Stocks snap three-day gains

The Dhaka and Chattogram stock exchanges snapped a three-day advance yesterday after investors booked profits.  

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), lost 10 points, or 0.17 per cent, to close at 6,260.

The DSES, the index that represents shariah-based companies, declined 0.16 per cent to 1,372, while the DS30, the blue-chip index, fell 0.16 per cent to 2,208.

The market opened with an upbeat note but failed to sustain its upward momentum after the first hour of the trading session and continued to fall till the end in a gradual manner, said International Leasing Securities Ltd in its daily market analysis.

The stocks on the DSE slipped into red following a three-day gain as cautious investors booked profits on sector-specific stocks, it said. 

Turnover, one of the key indicators of the market, was down 30.2 per cent to Tk 430 crore.

Investment activity in the pharmaceuticals, IT and fuel and power sectors was remarkably high, capturing 24.1 per cent, 12.4 per cent and 11.2 per cent of the total turnover, respectively.

The losers were strong as out of a total of 341 issues traded, 68 declined, 27 advanced, and 246 remained unchanged.

Among the sectors, jute rose 6.2 per cent and ceramic and travel were up 0.2 per cent, whereas the IT sector fell 1.9 per cent and the service and the paper sector slipped 0.9 per cent.

Kohinoor Chemicals Company topped the gainers' list, advancing 8.74 per cent. Northern Jute Manufacturing Company and Jute Spinners rose more than 8 per cent, while Intraco Refueling Station and Sonali Aansh Industries were up over 5 per cent.

Orion Infusion suffered the sharpest fall, losing 7.46 per cent. Other major losers included Monno Agro & General Machinery, Ambee Pharmaceuticals, Tamijuddin Textile Mills and Aamra Technologies.

Intraco Refueling Station was the most-traded stock on the DSE with its issues worth Tk 34 crore changing hands. Other issues that also saw higher turnover included Monno Ceramic Industries, Salvo Chemical Industry, Bashundhara Paper Mills, Monno Agro & General Machinery, and Genex Infosys.

The Caspi, the all-share index of the Chattogram Stock Exchange, lost 16 points, or 0.09 per cent, to end the day at 18,451.

Of the 140 securities that traded on the bourse in the port city, 20 advanced, 43 declined, and 77 showed no price movement.

Turnover plummeted more than 66 per cent to Tk 14.86 crore. It was Tk 43.88 crore on Tuesday, the highest since October 17, CSE data showed.