Dhaka stocks slid slightly for 2nd day

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FE Report
Dhaka stocks slid slightly for the second day Thursday, as the investors sold part of their portfolios and set aside funds for the shares of Navana CNG which will make 'direct listing' debut on Sunday.
All sectors, except banks which snapped six days of consecutive falls, declined with the benchmark DSE General Index (DGEN) shedding 23.88 points or 0.79 per cent to end at 2977.72.
The broader All Shares Price Index (DSI) lost 20.11 points or 0.79 per cent to close at 2501.70. The DSE-20 (DS20) blue chip index dropped 13.57 points or 0.63 per cent to 2108.74.
The market swung between gains and losses twice during the last session of the week. The benchmark index went down at mid-day before clocking a 12 points rise on fresh buying at lower price levels. It lost ground again in the final hour to end into the negative territory.
Losers beat gainers as out of 232 issues traded, 53 issues gained, 171 lost and eight remained unchanged.
Turnover stood at Tk 5.10 billion, a decrease of 17.2
per cent from the previous session, as the investors kept their purse intact to get ready for Sunday's direct listing of the Navana CNG.
The shares of the country's leading gas filling station owners will be sold at the spot market on its debut trading day, prompting some investors to sell off portion of their portfolios and cashed funds for the upcoming stock, brokers said.
"The mood in the market was down due to the much-awaited direct listing of Navana CNG," said Akhter H Sannamat, managing director of the Prime Finance Limited.
"Many investors sold off their less-yielding shares to build up cash to buy the shares at the spot market," he said.
Banks had a relatively better day as they broke a six-day losing streak, with Bank Asia gaining highest 2.6 per cent.
But the decline was led by almost all other sectors including mutual funds, non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), pharmaceuticals, energy and insurance.
Leading industrial conglomerate Beximco Group's parent company Beximco Ltd was the top turnover leader with shares worth Tk 339.08 million changing hands, followed by Summit Alliance Port Ltd Tk 313.00 million, Bextex Tk 216.41 million , Aftab Automobiles Tk 208.12 million and summit Power Tk 198.89 million.
Modern Dyeing, Bay Leasing, Reckitt Benkiser, Hakkani Pulp and Paper, Bankasia, Bangas and Prime Bank were the top gainers.