Stocks retreat after early rally on political uncertainty

The market opened higher on Tuesday, but the gains did not last amid major political developments.
The prime index surged more than 50 points within the first 30 minutes of trading until
11:00am following the oath-taking of newly-elected members of parliament (MPs).
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin administered the oath around 10:45am on Tuesday to the lawmakers who were elected in the 13th parliamentary election.
Investor enthusiasm faded after the news that BNP lawmakers did not take oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council,
The index then lost more than 70 points in the next hour to 12:00noon.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami elected MPs took oath as members of the Constitutional Reform Council at around 12:25pm, while the BNP MPs refrained from taking the oath.
Saiful Islam, president of the DSE Brokers' Association of Bangladesh, however, told The Financial Express that investors booked profits on their recent gains.
"Selling pressure increased as participants moved to cash in on gains," he said, adding that such consolidation is normal after a strong rally.
According to EBL Securities, investors preferred to lock in gains from the recent election-fueled rally while closely monitoring political developments.
The broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, fell 19 points to close at 5,571 on Tuesday.
The blue-chip index DS30, comprising 30 leading companies, dropped 9.52 points to 2,126, while the DSES Index, representing Shariah-compliant companies, decreased by 1.57 points to 1,117.
Turnover remained strong above the Tk 12 billion threshold. Although it edged down 2.8 per cent to Tk 12.2 billion.
The majority of the stocks saw a price fall, as out of the 396 issues traded, 131 closed higher, 238 ended lower, and 27 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Square Pharmaceuticals was the most-traded stock, with shares worth Tk 453 million changing hands, followed by ACI, City Bank, Dhaka Bank, and BRAC Bank.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) ended down, with its All Share Price Index (CASPI) decreasing 13.25 points to settle at 15,513.13 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) decreasing 14.63 points to settle at 9,526.31.

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