Stocks end lower for 6th day

Stocks extended their losing streak for the sixth consecutive sessions on Thursday with turnover dipping further as investors stuck to cautious stance. The market opened with a negative note which sustained throughout the session amid modest seesaw. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down slightly by 1.96 points or 0.04 per cent to 4,455.28. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, lost 1.38 points or 0.08 per cent to 1,715.66. However, the DSE Shariah Index (DSES), moved up by 0.09 points to end at 1,092.32 points. DSE turnover remained sluggish and amounted to Tk3.46 billion, registering a decline of 7.0 per cent over the previous day’s Tk3.46 billion. The losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 318 issues traded, 149 declined, 124 advanced and 45 remained unchanged. Olympic Accessories, which made trading debut today, was the day’s top turnover leader with shares worth Tk396.38 million changing hands followed by Square Pharma, AFC Agro, Lafarge Surma Cement and KPCL. Hakkani Pulp and Papers was the day’s top gainer, posting a rise of 9.88 per cent while Kay & Que was the worst loser, shedding 6.92 per cent. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – losing 20 points to close at 8,350 points. Losers beat gainers 133 to 68, with 30 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 10.84 million shares and mutual fund units, turnover of Tk350 million.