DSE declines amid cautious trading

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FE Report
Shares at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) slid on the first trading session of the week Sunday, as most of the banks fared badly amid profit taking.
The companies with low paid-up capital and general insurance firms, however, shined on the day, as investors opted for cautious transaction after a frenetic gain of all shares in the first 20 minutes of trading.
The benchmark DSE General Index (DGEN) closed at 2829.56 with a fall of 1.27 per cent or 36.64 points, wiping out the early
gains of 24 points. Turnover increased by 13.40 per to Tk 4.63 billion.
The broader All Shares Price Index (DSI) lost 31.24 points or 1.30 per cent to finish at 2372.42 and the DSE 20 blue chip index slid 1.09 per cent or 24.18 points to end at 2184.38.
"The market is going through cautious investment and profit taking," said Arif Khan, deputy managing director of the IDLC Finance Ltd.
"There is nothing wrong in the market as trade volume is still at a satisfactory level," he added.
Nearly all banks --- the bellwether of the market --- lost along with mutual funds, energy companies and non-banking financial institutions.
In the Pharmaceuticals sector, the country's second largest drug maker Beximco Pharma lost 4.0 per cent to be traded at 165.70 taka per share.
It's sister firm Beximco Ltd --- the flagship company of one of the country's leading conglomerates --- was the turnover leader for the third connective session with shares worth Tk 475.71 million changing hands.
State-run gas distribution company, Titas, came second with shares worth Tk 368.70 million traded, followed by Bextex with Tk 236.34 million, Beximco Pharma Tk 192.38 million and Jamuna Oil Tk 133.21 million.
Losers outnumbered the gainers as out of 239 issues traded, 63 gained, 174 declined and two remained unchanged.
The companies with fewer shares rose on the day, signaling what the brokers say riskier investment for the small investors.
Share prices of the country's pioneer apparel manufacturer Desh Garments gained the highest 19.85 per cent.
Jute Spinners, Gemini Sea Food, Sonali Aansh, Karnaphuli Insurance, Renwick Jajnewswar and Samorita Hospital were the other top gainers on the day.
Prime Life Insurance was the top losers, registering a fall of 21.88 per cent on its price adjustment after declaring dividends.
Other top losers were Chittagong Vegetable, Al-haj Textile, Purabi General Insurance, Beach Hatchery, BSRM Steel, Dutch Bangla Bank and Beximco Synthetic.