Stocks close lower for fourth session

Stocks ended lower for the fourth running sessions Tuesday with turnover improved slightly as investors remained cautious to make fresh investments.The market opened with a negative note and the downtrend continued till the market closure amid modest see-saw. At the end of the session, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSEX) ended at 4,554.78 points, shedding 36.39 points or 0.79 per cent. The other two indices also saw sharp decline. The DS30, comprising blue chips lost 19.73 points or 1.19 per cent to close at 1,635.98 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) went down by 14.27 points or 1.41 per cent to close at 995.01 points. Turnover value on DSE stood at Tk 3.22 billion, registering 10.27 per cent increase over the previous session’s two and a half month lowest turnover of Tk 2.92 billion. The losers took a lead over the gainers as out of 285 issues traded, 178 declined, 78 advanced and 29 issues closed unchanged on the DSE floor.The market capitalization of the DSE stood at Tk 2,854.52 billion against Tk 2,870.95 billion in the previous session. Square Pharma became the top turnover leaders with shares worth Tk 240.62 million changing hands followed by BSC, Padma Oil, Lafarge Surrma Cement and GP. IPDC was also the day’s highest gainer; posting a rise of 10.92 per cent following its corporate declaration while Bank Asia was the day’s worst losers, slumping by 7.85 per cent. The port city bourse --- the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX lost 85.35 points to close at 8,853.29 points. Losers beat gainers 142 to 68, with 17 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 6.40 million shares and mutual fund units, turnover value of Tk 279.75 million.