Dhaka stocks posted a marginal gain on Monday after volatile trading as investors mostly followed cautious stance amid lack of clear direction.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, went up by 4.42 points or 0.08 per cent to settle at 4,928, after losing more than 18 points in the previous session.
Market operators said the market closed nearly flat without having any clear direction because of the cautious trading behaviour of both buyers and sellers.
Throughout the trading session the market showed a zigzag pattern, as buyers and sellers both maintained cautiousness about their trade execution, said a merchant banker.
"While the market struggled to remain positive, waves of sell pressure beat it down in frequent intervals, causing it to close almost flat," he said.
He noted hitting the biggest ever IPO this month- many have already disposed of shares of other companies by investors, while some have to collect the required fund to join the IPO bonanza.
According to EBL Securities, many investors followed 'go slow' approach due to the upcoming IPO subscription as some giant corporations are set to be listed on the bourses.
The bargain hunters, however, remained active on stocks that declared satisfactory dividend and quarterly earnings, said a leading broker.
The shaky investors went for profit booking sell-off while some investors adopted 'wait-and-see' stance amid ongoing fickle market trend, commented International Leasing Securities.
The cautious investors were busy for booking quick-gain on general insurance, telecom, life insurance, financial institution and mutual fund sector stocks, said the stockbroker.
Two other indices also edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, gained 1.06 points to finish at 1,719 and the DSE Shariah Index advanced 4.42 points to close at 1,121.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 8.81 billion, which was 12 per cent higher than the previous day's turnover of Tk 7.86 billion.
Among the major sectors, general insurance, telecom and non-bank financial institutions lost 1.80 per cent, 0.70 per cent and 0.30 per cent respectively.
On the other hand, food, engineering, pharma and banking sectors posted gain of 1.0 per cent, 0.30 per cent, 0.20 per cent and 0.10 per cent respectably.
Losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 355 issues traded, 139 ended lower, 129 higher while 87 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
A total number of 170,163 trades were executed in the day's trading session with a trading volume of 348.52 million shares and mutual fund units.
The market capitalisation of DSE remained unchanged to Tk 3,997 billion on Monday over the previous session.
Beximco Pharma continued to dominate the turnover chart with 5.94 million shares worth Tk 807 million changing hands, followed by Beximco, SS Steel, Brac Bank and ADN telecom.
Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 10 per cent while Shinepukur Ceramic was the worst loser, losing 6.79 per cent.
However, the Chittagong Stock Exchange ended marginally lower with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)-losing 22 points to close at 14,119 while the Selective Categories Index - CSCX shedding 12 points to close at 8,496.
Of the issues traded, 106 advanced, 104 declined and 53 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 10.87 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 238 million.
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