Stocks end lower amid sluggish trading

Stocks ended lower for the second running sessions on Monday with turnover remained sluggish as investors continued on profit booking. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended at 4,608.95 points, shedding 32.49 points or 0.70 per cent from previous session. The other two indices also closed in the red. The DS30, comprising blue chips lost 9.91 points or 0.56 per cent to close at 1,738.32 points. The DSE Shariah Index went down by 4.92 points or 0.45 per cent to close at 1,075.96 points. The total turnover on DSE dropped further and amounted to Tk 5.02 billion, which was 3.76 per cent lower over the previous session’s value of Tk 5.19 billion. The losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 298 issues traded, 202 declined, 71 advanced and 25 remained unchanged on the DSE floor. Singer Bangladesh was the day’s most traded stocks with shares worth Tk 391.58 million changing hands followed by newly listed Shurwid Industries, ACI, Beximco and MJL BD. Shurwid Industries, which made debut today (Monday) was the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 382 per cent while Imam Button was the day’s worst loser, slumping by 7.40 per cent. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed lower with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – lost 62.43 points to close at 8,675.23 points. Losers beat gainers 170 to 36, with 21 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 11.15 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 422.88 million.