DSE key index dips below 4,800-mark

Amid weak market sentiment, stocks fell further Monday with key index of the major bourse dipping below 4,800-mark after more than two months since September 16 last. The investors went for selling spree as soon as the market opened and the downturn continued throughout the trading session. At the end of the session, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended at 4,768.90 points, shedding 69.20 points or 1.43 per cent. The other two indices also saw sharp decline. The DS30, comprising blue chips lost 32.08 points or 1.79 per cent to close at 1,753.05 points. The DSE Shariah Index shed 23.04 points or 2.03 per cent to close at 1,110.58 points. Turnover remained sluggish and amounted to Tk 3.54 billion, registering an increase of 1.72 per cent over the previous session’s four month lowest value of Tk 3.48 billion. The losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 302 issues traded, 199 declined, 61 increased and 42 remained unchanged. Lafarge Surma Cement was the most traded stock with shares worth Tk 192.11 million changing hands followed by Square Pharma, GP, Beximco Pharma and Jamuna Oil. ICB First NRB Mutual Fund was the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 5.88 per cent while Emerald Oil was the day’s worst loser, slumping by 10.51 per cent. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also saw sharp decline with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – lost 113.58 points to close at 9,025.39 points. Losers beat gainers 166 to 29, with 22 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 7.15 million shares and mutual fund units, turnover value of Tk 268.29 million.