Stocks inch up, turnover falls sharply

Stocks inched up on Wednesday for the third straight session amid volatility with turnover fell drastically as investors followed cautious stance. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended at 4,599.46 points, gaining 8.81points or 0.19 per cent after witnessing see-saw throughout the session. The other two indices also ended positive. The DS30, comprising blue chips gained 6.51 points or 0.37 per cent to close at 1,734.93 points. The DSE Shariah Index advanced 8.06 points or 0.75 per cent to close at 1,073.54 points. DSE turnover dropped to Tk 5.78 billion, registering a decline of 27.30 per cent over the previous session’s value of Tk 7.95 billion. Out of 297 issues traded, 131 advanced, 134 declined and 32 remained unchanged on the DSE floor. Beximco Limited continued to top the turnover chart for the six running sessions with shares worth Tk 360.93 million changing hands followed by Beximco Pharma, Square Pharma, MJL BD and Golden Son. ICB First NRB Mutual Fund was the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 5.90 per cent while Intech Online Ltd was the day’s worst loser, slumping by 3.64 per cent. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed positive with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – gained 6.45 points to close at 8,680.96 points. Losers beat gainers 116 to 75, with 28 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 13.22 million shares and mutual fund units, turnover value of Tk 418.12 million.