Price correction pulls down Dhaka stocks

FE ReportbrDhaka stocks fell Wednesday on price correction after gaining nine straight sessions, with persistent low turnover.brBeginning on a downbeat mood from the very outset of the trade, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) finished same as the investors sold their holdings to book profit.brThe market registered consecutive gain since August 20 when the securities regulator started talks with merchant bankers and brokerage houses to bring the market back on track.brAll the market barometers -- the benchmark DSE General Index (DGEN), the All Shares Price Index (DSI) and the DSE-20 index comprising blue chips - shed 34.09 points, 25.64 points and 15.47 points to end at 2797.31, 2390.67 and 2418.75 respectively.brOn the day out of 229 issues traded, 44 advanced, 171 declined and 14 remained unchanged. brAfter nine days of gain, the market turned to the red as the market took a breath due mainly to profit taking, according to the market operators.brI think the market has managed the inevitable profit taking, but there's still a lot of skepticism out there, an analyst said.brThe market's overall tone is positive, but there's a very uneasy truce right now between the positives and negatives, and we'll have to see how things shape up, he added.brThe total turnover continued to decline and stood at Tk 2.69 billion against the previous day's Tk 2.71 billion. The total market capitalisation also decreased to Tk 986.17 billion against Tk 990.60 billion of the previous day. brStock price of the Titas Gas dropped 1.81 per cent to finish at Tk 420.25 per share, making it the top turnover leader with shares worth Tk 393.85 million traded.brBeximco was the second turnover leader with shares worth Tk 273.28 million changing hands. The company was also the top gainer, posting a rise of 12.52 per cent to close at Tk 121.30 a share.brOther turnover leaders of the day were GrameenS2 mutual fund, ACI Limited, Beximco Pharma, Lankabangla Finance Limited, ICB Second NRB, Pragati Insurance, Square Pharma and Uttara Bank.brICB Islami Bank was the second biggest gain of 10.35 per cent, followed by AMCL (Pran) 9.03 per cent, Beximco Fishery 6.70 per cent, Apex Foods 5.88 per cent and Shinepukur 5.45 per cent.brMTBL, Bangas, Modern Industries. 7th ICB, Wata Chemicals, Alpha Tobacco and 6th ICB were the top losers on the day.br