Stocks fall on profit-taking

Dhaka stocks fell slightly on Monday, a day after the premier bourse witnessed the steepest single-day gain in 2014 as investors booked some profit. The market opened with a downward trend and the negative trend continued till the market closure amid modest see-saw. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went down by 24.79 points or 0.46 per cent to close at 5,309.24 points. The two other indices also closed in negative. The DS30, comprising blue chips, lost 4.57 points or 0.22 per cent to close at 1,994.12 points. The DSE Shariah Index declined 3.42 points or 0.27 per cent to close at 1,237.74 points. However, the total turnover on DSE rose to Tk 10.07 billion, registering an increase of 10.05 per cent over the previous session’s value of Tk 9.15 billion. Losers outpaced gainers as out of 305 issues traded, 152 declined, 128 advanced and 25 remained unchanged on the DSE floor. MJL BD was the day’s most traded stocks with shares worth Tk 389.51 million changing hands followed by Square Pharma, GP, Golden Son and Titas Gas. GSP Finance was the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 9.50 per cent while Bank Asia was the day’s worst losers, losing 4.74 per cent. The total market capitalization on DSE stood at Tk 3,465.99 billion against Tk 3,475.42 billion in the previous session. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also saw marginal correction with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – lost 15.70 points to close at 9,979.61 points. Gainers beat losers 115 to 113, with 12 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 19.35 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 591.87 million.