Stocks witness mild correction ahead of Eid

Stocks witnessed a mild correction last week as most of the investors followed cautious stance after unveiling of the national budget for fiscal year (FY) 2018-19.
The trading sessions of the bourses shortened to only three in the past week that ended on Tuesday due to the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
Week-on-week, DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 1.45 points to finish at 5,365 points.
Market insiders said despite gains in the last two sessions, the sharp decline in the opening session failed to take the market into the positive territory.
A section of investors got frustrated on the proposed budget as there was no specific direction for the capital market except corporate tax cut for the listed banks and financial institutions, said an analyst.
Accordingly, the first trading session after announcement of the budget fell sharply by 43 points on Sunday.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Thursday last proposed to cut corporate tax rate by 2.5 per cent for the listed banks and financial institutions for FY 2018-19.
However, investors showed their buying appetite on sector-wise stocks in the last two sessions of the week amid budget review expectations.
"Dividend expectation of June year-end companies coupled with lucrative price level prompted some investors to take position on sector-specific stocks in the last two sessions," said a leading broker.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, plunged 19.87 points to finish at 1,958 points, largely driven by Grameenphone, as GP's share fell 5.20 per cent to close at Tk 374.60.
However, the DSE Shariah index saw a fractional gain of 0.14 point to settle at 1,238.
Turnover, one of the most important indicators of the market, came down to Tk 13.15 billion on the DSE last week against Tk 21.21 billion in the week before as last week saw only three sessions.
The daily turnover averaged at Tk 4.38 billion, registering an increase of 3.39 per cent over the previous week's average of Tk 4.24 billion.
The pharmaceuticals sector topped the turnover chart, capturing 17 per cent of the week's total turnover, followed by engineering with 14 per cent and power 13 per cent.
According to International Leasing Securities, the optimistic investors' took position in the financial institution's stocks riding on the news of corporate tax rate cut by 2.5 per cent in the national budget.
Investors also took position in food, power, life insurance, miscellaneous and ceramic sectors anticipating better returns after the Eid vacation, said the stockbroker.
Among the major sectors, telecommunication sector posted the highest loss of 4.80 per cent, followed by banking with 0.71 per cent.
On the other hand, financial institutions witnessed the highest gain of 5.10 per cent, followed by power with 2.18 per cent, food 1.97 per cent, pharmaceuticals 0.41 per cent and engineering 0.38 per cent.
The market capitalisation of the DSE inched up by 0.07 per cent as it was Tk 3,796 billion on opening day of the week while it came down to Tk 3,799 billion on Tuesday.
Of the issues traded, 150 closed lower, 150 higher and 42 issues remained unchanged on the DSE floor.
United Power was the week's most traded stock with 2.84 million shares worth Tk 671 million changing hands, followed by Pharma Aids with Tk 453 million, Monno Ceramic Industries Tk 443 million, Square Pharmaceuticals Tk 381 million and Grameenphone 368 million.
Popular Life Insurance was the week's best performer, posting a gain of 2.47 per cent while the Berger Paints was the worst loser, losing 46.67 per cent following its price adjustment after record date.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also finished marginally lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -falling 44 points to settle at 16,505 points.
The Selective Categories Index - CSCX - also lost 32 points to close at 9,980 points.

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