Stocks inch down amid choppy trading

The stock market inched down on Thursday with sluggish turnover as late hours selling pressure wiped off early gains.The market opened higher like previous few sessions, but could not sustain. At the end of the session, DSEX the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange ended at 4,328.40, shedding 12.05 points or 0.27 per cent. The other two indices also closed in red. The DS30, comprising blue chips lost 2.82 points or 0.17 per cent to close at 1,603.46 points while the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 6.94 points or 0.69 per cent to close at 992.97 points. The total turnover on DSE stood at Tk 2.66 billion which was 14.16 per cent higher compared to previous session’s value of Tk 2.33 billion. The market breadth remained positive, as out of 298 issues traded, 138 advanced, 115 declined and 45 remained unchanged on the DSE floor. Lafarge Surma Cement was the most traded stocks for the fourth sessions with shares worth Tk 309.62 million changing hands followed by GP, ACI, BSRM Steels and Square Pharmaceuticals. Sandhani Life Insurance was the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 7.08 per cent while Kohinoor Chemicals was the day’s worst loser, slumping by 4.85 per cent. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed in red with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – lost 7.34 points to close at 8,264.88 points. Gainers beat losers 82 to 81, with 36 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 6.34 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 204.28 million.