GP stock drags DSEX down

Stocks extended the losing streak for the second straight session on Thursday amid protests by investors against the continuous slump in share prices.
DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 10.63 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 4,771.
Market analysts said the depressed market outlook coupled with growing concern about the telecom regulator's move to appoint administrators to Grameenphone over unpaid dues dragged the market down.
GP, the largest listed company in terms of capital, plunged 3.14 per cent on the day, accounting for nearly 22-point fall in the DSEX, according to data of amarstock.com, a stock market data analyst.
The shaky investors liquidated their holdings from GP shares following the news that the telecom regulator moves to appoint administrators to GP, said the International Leasing Securities.
Meanwhile, a section of investors under the banner of 'Bangladesh Pujibazar Biniogkari Oikya Parishad' staged a demonstration in front of the DSE building to protest against the continuous fall of indices.
The aggrieved investors demanded immediate resignation of M Khairul Hossain, the chief of the capital market watchdog, and some top officials of securities regulators for their failure to restore normalcy in the market.
They also alleged that the securities regulator failed to check manipulation in the market. As a result, small investors lost their money, they added.
The market opened with a downward trend on Thursday and the key index slumped 40 points within the first hour of trading. But the rest of the session recovered most of the early losses.
Two other indices also closed lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, lost 6.44 points to finish at 1,679 and the DSE Shariah Index also shed 5.71 points to close at 1,094.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 3.13 billion, down 3.40 per cent from the previous day's turnover of Tk 3.24 billion.
EBL Securities said the regulator's short-term supportive measures failed to create any sustainable impact on the DSEX index.
The stockbroker noted that the news of appointing administrators in GP has forced a section of investors to dump GP shares.
Among the major sectors, telecom lost 3.0 per cent, followed by textile (4.30 per cent), food (1.50 per cent), and power (1.40 per cent).
The losers took a modest lead over the gainers, as out of 350 issues traded, 162 closed lower, 145 ended higher and 43 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
National Tubes topped the turnover chart, with 989,991 shares worth Tk 181 million changing hands.
The other turnover leaders were Monno Jute Stafflers, Square Pharma, Sonar Bangla Insurance and Bangladesh Shipping Corporation.
A total number of 100,510 trades were executed in the day's trading session with trading volume standing at 100.55 million securities.
The market capitalisation of the DSE also fell to Tk 3,590 billion on Thursday from Tk 3,608 billion in the previous session.
Golden Harvest Agro Industries was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 9.83 per cent while Meghna Condensed Milk was the worst loser, shedding 9.49 per cent.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange, also ended lower with its CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - falling 47 points to settle at 14,507 and the Selective Categories Index -- CSCX - losing 28 points to finish at 8,816.
Here too, the losers beat gainers, as 134 issues closed lower, 93 ended higher and 28 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city bourse traded 8.54 million shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 185 million in turnover.

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