Low activity, cautious sentiment drags DSEX down by 25 points
This caused the benchmark DSEX index to fall 25 points, closing at 5,196
Highlights
- DSEX closes 25 points lower at 5,196
- DS30 ends 3 points down at 1,935
- DSES index falls by 5 points to 1,162
- Turnover drops by 6.8% to Tk313cr
- 66 advanced, 281 declined, 46 unchanged
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) began the week on a downward trend today, as low investor activity, coupled with cautious sentiment over economic challenges and political uncertainty, led to a sell-off in blue-chip stocks.
This caused the benchmark DSEX index to fall 25 points, closing at 5,196. The DSE Shariah Index fell by 5 points to close at 1,162, while the DS30 index dropped 3 points to settle at 1,935.
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Turnover at the DSE dropped by 6.8% to Tk313 crore, compared to Tk336 crore in the previous session. Of the 393 stocks traded, 281 declined, 66 advanced, and 46 remained unchanged.
The indices started the session positively and maintained an upward trend during the first hour. However, market momentum slowed soon after, and the main index steadily declined for the remainder of the session.
Key stocks contributing to the decline included Square Pharmaceuticals, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Islami Bank Bangladesh, Power Grid Company of Bangladesh, Eastern Bank, Bangladesh Submarine Cables, Kohinoor Chemicals Company (Bangladesh), MJL Bangladesh, The ACME Laboratories, and LafargeHolcim Bangladesh.
Daffodil Computers led the top gainers, followed by Rupali Life Insurance Company, Asiatic Laboratories, Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries, Popular Life First Mutual Fund, and Stylecraft Limited.
On the other hand, Maksons Spinning Mills topped the list of losers, followed by Bay Leasing & Investment, Mithun Knitting and Dyeing, Phoenix Finance and Investments, and New Line Clothings Limited.
EBL Securities, in its daily market commentary, said that the capital bourse of the country started the week on a gloomy note amid lower market participation as cautious investors shy away from taking positions in equities considering the market's waning momentum.
The market remained downbeat throughout the session with widespread sell-offs from cautious investors that pushed the majority of scrips sliding into red territory, according to the commentary.
Pharmaceuticals led the sectoral turnover today with 20.4%, followed by textiles at 11.8% and banks at 10.4%.
However, almost all sectors showed negative returns. The services, ceramics, and textiles sectors faced the highest declines of 1.9%, 1.8%, and 1.6%, respectively. Only the food sector posted a slight gain of 0.2%.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended in negative territory, with the CSCX index falling by 24.7 points and the CASPI index dropping by 54.6 points.
The turnover of the CSE stood at Tk115 crore at the end of the session. Among the 176 stocks traded, 42 gained, 110 declined, and 24 remained unchanged.
