Most shares on the Dhaka and Chattogram stock exchanges ended in red today as investors kept booking profits but are taking a wait-and-see approach while making new investments amid lingering uncertainty.
The fall of the foreign currency reserves to $37.6 billion on Thursday following the settlement of import payments worth $1.73 billion through the Asian Clearing Union also weighed on investors’ sentiment.
Today, both bourses opened on a positive note but couldn’t sustain the gaining streak.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), closed at 6,538, down 21 points, or 0.33 per cent.
The DS30, the index that consists of blue-chip companies, slipped 0.12 per cent to 2,373, while the DSES, the shariah-based index, was down 0.63 per cent at 1,432.
Turnover, one of the important indicators of the market, fell nearly 10 per cent to Tk 1,691 crore. Of the securities, 45 were up, 219 lost and 109 did not find any buyer.
The shares on the DSE slipped into red because of the quick profit-booking on sector-specific stocks in the last hour of the session, said International Leasing Securities Ltd, a brokerage house, in its daily market review.
Investment activity in the pharmaceuticals and miscellaneous sectors was remarkably high, capturing 27.4 per cent and 20 per cent of the day’s total turnover, respectively.
Among the sectors, service stocks were up 3.1 per cent and travel securities gained 1.1 per cent. On the contrary, IT stocks gave up 2 per cent, textile stocks lost 1.9 per cent, and paper stocks faced a 1.6 per cent price correction.
Bangladesh Export Import Company was the most-traded stock, with its scrips worth Tk 251 crore changing hands.
Orion Pharma, Shinepukur Ceramics, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Orion Infusion, and Nahee Aluminum Composite Panel were among the stocks that saw significant transactions.
Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills gained 10 per cent, the highest among all the companies that witnessed trading.
Shinepukur Ceramics jumped 9.83 per cent, Yeakin Polymer climbed 7.63 per cent, Kohinoor Chemicals Company advanced 7.49 per cent, Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa won 7.43 per cent, Bangladesh Export Import Company rose 5.53 per cent, and IDLC Finance was up 5 per cent.
Beacon Pharmaceuticals was the worst-performing stock, retreating 7.93 per cent, while Sunlife Insurance Company lost 7.44 per cent.
Prime Finance & Investment, FAS Finance & Investment, and Paper Processing & Packaging declined more than 6 per cent.
The Caspi, the all-share price index of the bourse in the port city, lost 16 points, or 0.08 per cent to close at 19,260.
Of the securities, 49 advanced, 160 declined and 65 did not show any price movement. Turnover, however, rose to Tk 41 crore from Tk 27.93 crore on Thursday.
