DSEX dips below 4,400-mark

Stocks saw sharp decline Sunday with the key index of the prime bourse dipped below 4,400 points mark as investors remained frustrated due to imposition of higher capital gain tax in the proposed budget. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) came down below 4,400 points mark after four trading sessions and ended at 4,361.58 points, shedding 47.21 points or 1.07 per cent. The DS30, comprising blue chips lost 19.87 points or 1.21 per cent to close at 1,618.20 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 10.51 points or 1.03 per cent to close at 1,007.71 points. The total turnover on DSE came down to Tk 3.14 billion, registering a decline of 14.67 per cent from the previous session’s Tk 3.68 billion. The losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 291 issues traded, 212 declined, 47 advanced and 32 closed unchanged on the DSE floor. GP dominated the day’s top turnover chart with shares worth Tk 412.50 million changing hands followed by Peninsula Chittagong, BSRM Steels, Lafarge Surma cement and Meghna Petroleum. Newly-listed Peninsula Chittagong was the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 22.33 per cent while Jute Spinners was the day’s worst loser, slumping by 17.56 per cent. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed lower with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – lost 90.27 points to close at 8,320.16 points. Losers beat gainers 154 to 26, with 14 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 6.23 million shares and mutual fund units, turnover value of Tk 233.18 million.