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DSE core index dips below 7,000 mark

FIs, power, food, pharma sectors suffer most


FE REPORT | January 31, 2022 00:00:00


The core index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell below the 'psychological' threshold of 7,000-mark after three weeks on Sunday.

The market opened on a positive note and the key index rose about 25 points soon after the market opened. But, the rest of the session went down steadily amid profit booking by investors.

DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 35.99 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 6,991, lowest in three weeks since January 9, when the DSEX was 6,932.

Market analysts said the risk-averse investors opted for booking profit on sector specific stocks which failed to meet the investors' expectations in the quarterly earnings declarations.

A section of investors had rebalanced their portfolios based on the earnings and dividend declarations, said a merchant banker.

Some 64 listed firms published their quarterly financial statements on Sunday. Of them, 33 companies posted higher growth in earnings per share (EPS) for July-December 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Anwar Galvanizing posted the highest EPS growth of 380 per cent to Tk 7.63 for July-December 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Beximco witnessed a 352 per cent EPS growth to Tk 8.67 for July- December 2021 compared to the same period of the previous year.

However, 31 companies witnessed EPS fall year-on-year in July-December 2021. Some of them fell into fresh losses while some continued incurring losses for a long.

Stocks extended the losing streak as the declaration of the quarterly earnings of some companies failed to meet investors' expectation, according to International Leasing Securities.

Even the companies that showed extraordinary growth in its latest earnings could not perform well in the market amid growing tension over rising virus cases, said the stockbroker.

Two other indices also closed lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 17.18 points to finish at 2,585 and the DSE Shariah Index shed 8.80 points to close at 1,491.

Turnover, the most important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 13.33 billion, which was 9.35 per cent higher than the previous day's tally of Tk 12.19 billion.

According to EBL Securities, the investors' portfolio rebalancing efforts in the late session amidst earning declarations pushed the main index to settle below the 7,000-points.

The risk-averse investors choose to book profits on sector-specific equities that failed to meet expectations in the recent quarterly earnings disclosures, said the stockbroker.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also edged lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -losing 97 points to settle at 20,489 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX-shedding 58.58 points to close at 12,308.

Of the issues traded, 178 declined, 91 advanced and 34 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.

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