Stocks stumble at opening

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) stumbled in the early hours of trading on Sunday, the opening session of the week amid nationwide hartal. Despite the general strike, the trading started at 10:30am. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, slipped by 11.27 points to 5,142.83 after 1st 30 minutes of trade when the report was filed at 11am. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, lost 7.42 points or 0.38 per cent to 1,936.24. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) slightly shed 3.50 points or 0.28 per cent to stand at 1,212.72 points. DSE turnover stood at Tk 588 million when the report was filed at 11am. Of the issues traded till then, 74 advanced, 93 declined and 34 remained unchanged. Titas Gas was the most traded stocks with shares worth Tk 47 million changing hands till then followed by Apex Footwear, MJL BD, Saif Powertec and ACI Formulations. The port city bourse – CSE – also saw downward trend in early hour with its Selective Category Index, CSCX, losing 21.49 points to 9,656.37, also at 11am. Of the issues traded till then, 24 gained, 51 declined and 7 remained unchanged with a turnover value of Tk 64 million.