Key stock index lowest in two and a half months

Stocks in Bangladesh sank to a two-and-a-half-month low yesterday as investors poured their funds only into selective shares to pocket short-term gains amid price fluctuations.

The DSEX, the main index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), fell by 1.09 percent from the day before to close at 5,257 points, marking four days of constant decline.

The last time the DSEX had reached such a level was on August 4, when it stood at 5,229 points.

The DSES index representing Shariah-compliant companies edged down 0.74 percent from the day prior to close at 1,174 points and the DS30 index comprising blue-chip stocks slipped by 0.90 percent to close at 1,930 points.

Of the 395 scrips traded at the DSE, 53 saw their prices rise while that of 293 fell and 49 did not witness any movement.

Daily turnover of the DSE, which indicates the volume of shares traded, increased by 3.56 percent from the day prior to about Tk 306 crore.

The banking sector dominated the turnover chart, accounting for about 22 percent of the total.

Block trades, meaning high-volume securities transactions that are privately negotiated and executed outside of the open market, contributed 4.1 percent, or Tk 12.7 crore, of the turnover, Shanta Securities said in its daily market update.

Agni Systems Limited emerged as the most traded share, registering a turnover of Tk 22.8 crore, followed by Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream PLC, BRAC Bank and Islami Bank Bangladesh.

Among all sectors, non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) and ceramics were the only two that closed in positive territory, showed the daily market update of UCB Stock Brokerage.

On the other hand, the services and real estate, life insurance and general insurance sectors were the top three sectors that closed in negative territory.

Most sectors that account for large amounts in market capitalisation, which refers to the total value of a company's outstanding shares, showcased negative performances, as per the daily market update of BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage.

Of them, the engineering sector experienced the highest loss of 2.02 percent followed by banking (1.33 percent), fuel and power (1.06 percent), food and allied (0.87 percent), telecommunications (0.76 percent), and pharmaceuticals (0.32 percent).

Meanwhile, the NBFI sector recorded a gain of 0.60 percent.

Shares of companies like Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Olympic Industries, Kohinoor Chemicals, Beacon Pharmaceuticals, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Advent Pharma, Paramount Textile PLC, Padma Oil Company Limited, Uttara Bank PLC, and SK Trims and Industries Limited drew a significant number of investors, according to the LankaBangla Financial Portal.

However, none of them saw double-digit growth in share prices. Shares of Beximco Pharmaceuticals registered growth of 3.03 percent, the highest among all blue-chip and large-cap scrips.

Shares of BRAC Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh, BAT Bangladesh, Square Pharmaceuticals, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, Bangladesh Submarine Cables, Grameenphone, Renata, National Bank and Prime Bank suffered losses.

At the Chittagong Stock Exchange, the CASPI, the main index of the port city bourse, slipped by 1.01 percent from the previous session to settle the day at 14,821 points.