The stock market took a tumble yesterday due to a profit booking spree among investors while turnover also plunged. The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), plummeted 60 points, or 1.02 per cent, to 5,813.
“The market fell due to a very natural reason, which is profit booking,” a stock broker said. As the market was in a rising trend for the past few weeks, most stocks were already up by 10 to 15 per cent.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel.
“So, some investors realised profits by selling their shares,” he said, adding that this is a positive thing for the market.
The DSE’s turnover, an important indicator of the market, fell 22 per cent to Tk 1,634 crore. At the country’s premier bourse, the shares of 71 companies rose, 233 fell and 55 remained the same.
The market fall is nothing to worry about as it was expected following a prolonged rising trend, according to a merchant banker.
“If the market rises week after week without any contractions, it becomes risky,” he said. Investors were taught a hard lesson by the 2010 crash and so, they now tend to book profits.
“But the important thing is that higher turnover indicated higher investor participation in the market,” the merchant banker added.
Provati Insurance topped the gainers, rising 9.94 per cent, followed by Aramit Cement, Asia Insurance, Index Agro Industries, and Genex Infosys.
Beximco’s stocks traded the most with Tk 213 crore, followed by LankaBangla Finance, Prime Bank, NRB Commercial Bank, and SAIF Powertec. Miracle Industries shed the most, dropping 8.03 per cent, followed by Prime Bank, Prime Life Insurance, Meghna Condensed Milk, and Eastern Insurance.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also fell yesterday as the CASPI, the general index of the port city bourse, shed 214 points, or 1.25 per cent, to 16,837.
Among 282 traded stocks, 42 advanced, 199 dropped and 41 remained the same.
