Stocks post sharp fall

Indexes of the stock market in Bangladesh fell sharply today after rising for a day as the investors were reluctant to pour fresh funds on shares amid the price fluctuations.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), edged down by 83.8 points or 1.53 percent from the previous day before closing at 5,378.

Similarly, the DSES, the index that represents Shariah-based companies, went down by 30.41 points or 2.49 percent to 1,190 while the DS30 index for the blue-chip firms dropped by 26.54 points, or 1.33 percent, to 1,964.

Of the issues that changed hands on the DSE trading floor, 180 advanced, 156 dropped and 56 did not see any price movement.

The day's turnover, which indicates the total value of shares in prices, stood at Tk 368 crore, an increase of 16.68 percent compared to the previous day's trading session.

Block trades, referring to high-volume transactions in securities that are privately negotiated and executed outside of the open market, contributed another 2 percent of the day's overall market turnover.

Islami Bank Bangladesh was the most traded share with shares Tk 25.6 crore changing hands.

The banking sector experienced the highest loss of 2.14 percent, followed by telecommunication, engineering, the food & allied with a loss of 1.39 percent, 0.89 percent, and 0.73 percent, respectively.

Fuel and power recorded a loss of 0.58 percent and pharmaceuticals 0.37 percent.

The non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) is the only sector who posted a gain of 0.22 percent.

In the individual company segment, Fu-Wang Ceramic Industries and Fu Wang Food stood first and second on the gainer's chart, showcasing an identical 9.87 percent gain each.

Rangpur Dairy & Food Products, Khulna Printing & Packaging Limited, Deshbandhu Polymer Limited, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Ltd, Navana Pharma, Western Marine Shipyard Limited, Renwick Jajneswar & Co (Bd) Ltd and Advent Pharma Limited posted gains as well.

Islami Bank Bangladesh shed the most, losing the highest of 9.92 percent.

Social Islami Bank, Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries, National Tea Company, Islamic Finance & Investment Ltd, First Security Islami Bank PLC, Aftab Automobiles Limited, Takaful Islami Insurance Limited, Orion Infusion Limited, ADN Telecom Limited, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh and Olympic Industries suffered losses.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed a similar falling trend as the CASPI, the major index of the port city bourse, slipped by 104.52 points, or 0.68 percent, to settle at 15,167.