Stocks close lower amid sluggish participation

Stocks witnessed steep decline on Wednesday for the fourth running session with participation remained sluggish as investors sold shares fearing further fall. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE ended at 4,457.49 points, shedding 39.62 points or 0.88 per cent from previous session. The other two indices also ended lower. The DS30, comprising blue chips lost 15.29 points or 0.93 per cent to close at 1,622.58 points. The DSES dropped 8.02 points or 0.79 per cent to close at 996.71 points. Amid the shaky confidence, participation remained sluggish, keeping turnover below Tk 4.0 billion level for fourth consecutive session. The total turnover stood at Tk 3.78 billion, registering a decline of 4.02 per cent over the previous session’s value of Tk 3.94 billion. The losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 288 issues traded, 160 declined, 104 advanced and 24 issues closed unchanged on the DSE floor. Hwa Well Textiles which made debut today became the top turnover leader with shares worth Tk 298.99 million changing hands followed by GP, BSCCL, Square Pharma and Matin Spinning. The Hwa Well Textiles was also the day’s highest gainer; posting a rise of 341 per cent per cent while Sonar Renata was the day’s worst losers, slumping by 19.95 per cent following its price adjustment after record date. The port city bourse -- Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) --also closed lower with its Selective Categories Index -- CSCX --lost 77.95 points to stand at 8,572.93 points. Losers beat gainers 134 to 60, with 19 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 10.24 million shares and mutual fund units, turnover value of Tk 355.96 million.