Stocks ended almost flat on Tuesday amid increased trading activities, as investors were active on both sides of trading fence.
Market analysts said shaky investors opted to book profit on stocks which saw sharp gains in recent days while others remained busy rebalancing their portfolios ahead of the earnings and dividend declarations.
Grameenphone, the largest market cap company, continued its downward trend, closing 2.26 per cent lower at Tk 388.60, on the news that the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) declared GP as a significant market power (SMP) operator considering its market share of above 40 per cent.
The SMP is a regulation that imposes restrictions on an operator once it corners 40 per cent of the subscribers, revenues and spectrum.
A leading broker said the news prompted investors to sell their holdings in GP as the declaration might lead to additional charges for GP alongside regular taxes for customer acquisition.
On the day, the market opened higher and the key index of the prime bourse climbed more than 29 points within first 25 minutes of the trading, but the selling pressure in the late hours wiped out all the initial gains.
At the end of the session, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,732, losing 1.95 points or 0.03 per cent over the previous day.
Two other indices also closed in the red. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 3.22 points to finish at 1,999. The DSES (Shariah) index also lost 2.05 points to settle at 1,309.
According to Sheltech Brokerage, the market closed flat amid correction in Grameenphone and multinational companies although textile and engineering sectors closed positive.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, however, surged to 9.01 billion, up 25 per cent from the previous day's turnover of Tk 7.19 billion.
Trading activities increased as the bargain hunters took position on sector-specific stocks at lucrative price levels, said the International Leasing Securities.
A total number of 182,698 trades were executed in the day's trading session, with trading volume standing at 220.26 million shares and mutual fund units.
The market-cap of the DSE fell to Tk 4,149 billion from Tk 4,166 billion in the previous day.
Telecommunications sector witnessed the highest loss of 2.06 per cent followed by food (1.12 per cent), pharmaceuticals (0.38 per cent), power (0.37 per cent), NBFIs (0.25 per cent) and banking sector (0.01 per cent).
The gainers took a modest lead over the losers, as out of 348 issues traded, 155 closed higher, 148 ended lower and 45 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
The ten most traded companies accounted for 32 per cent of the day's total turnover.
Fortune Shoes topped the day's turnover chart, with 21.08 million shares worth Tk 765 million changing hands, closely followed by United Power, Bangladesh Submarine Cables, Monno Ceramic and Grameenphone.
The Fortune Shoes was also the day's best performer, posting a gain of 9.91 per cent while Bangladesh National Insurance Company was the day's biggest loser, shedding 8.48 per cent.
The port city bourse -- Chittagong Stock Exchange -- also closed in the red with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - losing 20 points to settle at 17,554 while the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - shedding 14 points to finish at 10,620.
Here too, the gainers beat the losers as 134 issues ended higher, 106 lower and 28 remained unchanged.
The port city bourse traded 9.78 million shares and mutual fund units worth more than Tk 298 million in turnover.
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