The stock market maintained its downward trend yesterday, marking three days of decline as cautious investors opted to take their profits when the benchmark index of the country’s premier bourse recently hit a record high.
The DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), fell 27 points, or 0.40 per cent to 6,823 yesterday while the DS-30, the blue-chip stock index, dropped 9 points to 2,443 at the same time.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. “Some investors are taking profits so the index fell for the last few days but this tendency is good for making the market sustainable,” a stock broker said.
This includes many institutional investors who have shortened their portfolios.
However, general investors are still buying stocks, hoping that the market will rise again, he added.
The stock broker went on to say that since many stocks are still lucrative, smart investors find these out through meticulous research.
“I’m not saying that the market is overvalued so investors should not buy stocks, but I’m telling people to buy stocks only after analysing a company’s potentials and its price,” he said.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, nosedived 17 per cent to Tk 1,846 crore at the DSE, where 131 stocks advanced, 215 fell and 29 remained unchanged.
Aziz Pipes topped the gainers’ list, rising 9.85 per cent, with the company’s share value having skyrocketed 46 per cent altogether in the past month.
The pipe maker’s paid-up capital was Tk 5.3 crore and its number of shares is 53 lakh, according to DSE data.
South Bangla Agriculture & Commerce Bank shed the most, losing 8.94 per cent, followed by Meghna Condensed Milk, C&A Textiles, Imam Button and Islamic Finance & Investments.
Stocks of Beximco Ltd traded the most, worth Tk 106 crore, followed by LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, SAIF Powertec, Paramount Textiles, and Shahjibazar Power.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also declined yesterday as the CASPI, the general index of the port city bourse, edged down 86 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 19,844.
Among the 317 traded stocks, 101 rose, 186 fell and 30 remained unchanged.
