Stocks slip into red after 9 days

Stocks slipped into the red on Monday, snapping a nine-day rally with turnover dropped slightly as investors booked profit. The market opened with an upbeat mood in the morning, but could not sustain amid profit booking. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went down by 21.85 points or 0.43 per cent to close at 5,050.34 points, after gaining 362 points in nine sessions. The two others indices ended in the red. The DS30, comprising blue chips, lost 8.35 points or 0.42 per cent to close at 1,958.89 points. The DSE Shariah Index slipped 1.68 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 1,197.43 points. The total turnover on DSE came down to Tk 9.02 billion, registering a decline of 18.07 per cent over the previous session’s value of Tk 11.01 billion. Losers outpaced gainers as out of 301 issues traded, 176 declined, 87 advanced, and 38 remained unchanged on the DSE floor. Jamuna Oil was the day’s most traded stocks with shares worth Tk 475.38 million changing hands followed Square Pharma, MJL BD, newly listed saif Powertec and Padma Oil. The new issue – Saif Powertec was the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 138 per cent while Standard Ceramic was the day’s worst loser, slumping by 9.42 per cent. The total market capitalization on DSE stood at Tk 3,368.64 billion against Tk 3,379.93 billion in the previous session. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed marginally lower with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – lost 66.82 points to close at 9,459.15 points. Losers beat gainers 152 to 56, with 19 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 14.35 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 649.83 million.