Stocks end flat amid choppy trading

Stocks closed flat with marginal gains on Thursday amid choppy trading as investors followed cautious stance ahead of final approval of the budget. Profit taking on some selected stocks also marked the last working day's trading in the week. The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange -- DSEX--- ended at 4,409.42 points, gaining 5.77 points or 0.13 per cent, hitting highest at 4,423.03 points and lowest at 4,381.98 points in the intra-day trading session. However, the other two indices closed in negative. The DS30, comprising blue chips lost 2.74 points or 0.16 per cent to close at 1,616.57 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) also down by 1.01 points or 0.10 per cent to close at 1,006.22 points. The total turnover on DSE amounted to Tk 3.03 billion, which was 10.35 per cent lower compared to previous session’s value of Tk 3.38 billion. The market breath is remained positive, as out of 294 issues traded, 152 advanced, 104 declined and 38 remained unchanged on the DSE floor. Beximco Limited was the most traded stocks with shares worth Tk 240.85 million changing hands followed by Lafarge Surma Cement, GP, United Airwyas and Square Pharma. BD Thai Aluminum was the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 7.76 per cent while Delta Life Insurance was the day’s worst loser, slumping by 18.87 per cent. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed flat with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – gained 5.30 points to close at 8,406.61 points. Gainers beat losers 97 to 91, with 27 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 10.70 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 312.14 million.