Stocks end flat after choppy trading

Stocks ended another flat session on Sunday after volatile trading as late hours selling pressure wiped out all the early gains.
The market opened on an upbeat note and the key index of the prime bourse rose about 57 points in the mid-session. But rest of the session eroded almost all the early gains amid profit booking sell-offs.
Finally, DSEX, the core index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 0.85 point or 0.02 per cent to settle at 4,794.
Market operators said the risk-averse investors sold shares in the later part of the session as they opted for booking quick-profit on sector-wise stocks, taking the market in the flat territory.
The investors were also facing troubles in the morning for the third straight session in executing trading orders on the system as the new website of the DSE was very slow to load.
However, the DSE in a statement said due to maintenance and up-gradation of the website, the view of website is temporarily interrupted on August 19 and 20. The IT department of the DSE resolved the problem on Sunday.
"If you face any trouble regarding browsing DSE new website, please clean your browser's cache/history then try to browse," said the DSE.
Two other indices also edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 3.91 points to finish at 1,650 and the DSE Shariah Index gained 7.18 points to close at 1,107.
Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, remained below Tk 10 billion-mark for the two straight sessions and amounted to Tk 9.38 billion on the country's premier bourse against Tk 9.36 billion in the previous session.
"Market passed a volatile session as investors oscillated between optimism and profit booking stance," commented UCB Capital Management, in its regular market analysis.
According to International Leasing Securities, the cautious investors preferred to book some quick-gain following the recent price upsurge.
The bargain hunters tried to upturn the index but active presence of the wobbly investors pushed down the DSEX to settle in flat, said the stockbroker.
Among the major sectors, food, telecom and general insurance sectors witnessed the highest price appreciation, gaining 4.20 per cent, 2.50 per cent and 2.48 per cent respectively.
Banking, Mutual fund and financial institution sectors faced the highest correction, losing 2.10 per cent, 2.0 per cent and 0.70 per cent respectively.
Gainers outnumbered the losers, as out of 355 issues traded, 170 closed higher, 142 ended lower while 43 issues remained unchanged on the DSE floor.
A total number of 187,983 trades were executed in the day's trading session with a trading volume of 347.77 million shares and mutual fund units.
The market-cap on the premier bourse rose to Tk 3,616 billion on Sunday, from Tk 3,597 billion in the previous session.
Beximco Pharma topped the turnover chart with shares worth Tk 615 million changing hands, closely followed by Beximco, Orion Pharma, IFIC Bank and Bangladesh Shipping Corporation.
Queen South Textile was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 10 per cent while Premier Leasing was the worst loser, losing 16.39 per cent following its 'no' dividend declaration.
However, the Chittagong Stock Exchange edged down with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)-losing 31 points to close at 13,665 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX -shedding 17 points to finish at 8,248.
Of the issues traded, 122 gained, 119 declined and 29 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 12.70 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 300 million.

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