Turnover tumbles further

Stocks closed lower for the third running session on Tuesday with turnover dipped below Tk 5.0 billion-mark after five weeks as investors followed ‘wait-and-see’ strategy amid captious trading. The market opened with a negative trend and the downtrend continued till the market closure, eventually the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) --- DSEX --- ended at 4,763.46 points, shedding 34.50 points or 0.72 per cent. The others two indices also ended into red. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips lost 8.45 points or 0.49 per cent to close at 1,682.59 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) dropped 4.98 points or 0.50 per cent to close at 990.74 points. The total turnover on DSE came down to Tk 4.90 billion, registering 18.74 per cent decline over the previous session’s turnover value of Tk 6.03 billion. The losers took a lead over the losers as out of 287 issues traded, 194 declined, 60 advanced and 33 issues closed unchanged on the DSE floor. The market capitalization of the DSE stood at Tk 2,897.06 billion against Tk 2,901.69 billion in the previous session. Square Pharma continued to dominate the top turnover chart for the fourth running session with shares worth Tk 350.16 million changing hands followed by newly listed AFC Agro Biotech, BSCCL, GP and Meghna Petroleum. AFC Agro Biotech, which made debut Tuesday, was also the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 550 per cent while Brac Bank was the day’s worst losers, slumping by 7.07 per cent. The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower, with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX lost 73.68 points to close at 9,358.86 points. Losers beat gainers 179 to 30, with 18 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 12.35 million shares and mutual fund units, turnover value of Tk 435.68 million.