DSE turnover hits two-month low

FE Report | Published: February 06, 2017 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Daily trade turnover on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) came down to two-month low on Sunday as cautious investors were reluctant to put fresh funds on stocks.
Turnover, an important indicator of the market, came down to Tk 6.78 billion on the country's premier bourse, slumping further by 9.0 per cent over previous day's mark of Tk 7.45 billion.
It was the lowest single-day transaction in more than two months since November 30, 2016, when the turnover was recorded Tk 6.30 billion.
Turnover, which soared more than six years high to Tk 21.80 billion on January 23, came down by three times in just nine trading sessions.
"Sudden drop in turnover in the last few trading days indicates that investors were staying on the sidelines and observing the market movement carefully," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
He noted that most of the investors were cashing in on stocks to safeguard their position following the central bank's concern while some took position on sector specific stocks, making the market volatile throughout the session.
Along with declining turnover, stocks extended their losing streak for the two consecutive sessions.
After witnessing see-saw movement throughout the session, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,322.86, losing 42.26 points or 0.78 per cent after previous session's sharp correction of 108.75 points.
"After heavy fluctuation, broad index closed at 5322.87, breaking the support level at 5330," said LankaBangla Securities, a stockbroker, in an analysis.
The stockbroker noted that the next major support level is at 5,000-mark.
"The fall in index was accompanied by decreased activity, with market turnover and trading volume falling by 9.1 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively," said the stockbroker.
The two other indices also closed lower. The DS30, comprising blue chips, fell 4.48 points or 0.23 per cent to close at 1952.41. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 5.43 points or 0.43 per cent to finish at 1,249.36.
EBL Securities, a stockbroker, said, "The market witnessed another seatback amid see-saw movements throughout the session".
The stockbroker noted that the market started with optimistic sentiment but robust selling spree on large-cap stocks from different sectors, especially from banks dragged the market down in the later part of the session.
"Watchful movements of investors helped the key index down to 5,323 points and pushed the turnover decline to Tk 6.78 billion," said the stockbroker.
The heavyweight banking sector led the turnover chart, capturing 19 per cent of the day's total turnover value, followed by pharmaceuticals 16 per cent and engineering 15 per cent.
All the large-cap sectors showed negative performance except textile and pharmaceuticals, which gained 0.60 per cent and 0.45 per cent respectively.
Banks posted the highest loss, eroding 2.32 per cent, followed by engineering 0.77 per cent and fuel and power 0.65 per cent. NBFI, food and allied and telecommunication also fell 0.39 per cent, 0.15 per cent and 0.02 per cent respectively.
The losers took a strong lead over the gainers as 328 issues traded, 227 closed lower, 80 closed higher and 21 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Saif Powertec dominated the DSE turnover chart with about 4.05 million shares of Tk 265 million changing hands, followed by Beximco, LankaBangla Finance, Islami Bank and ACI Formulations.
LankaBangla Finance was the day's highest gainer, posting 8.56 per cent rise, while EBL First Mutual Fund was the worst loser, plunging by 8.22 per cent.
The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also closed lower with its Selective Categories Index - CSCX - losing 96.26 points to settle at 9967.40.
Losers beat gainers as 180 issues closed lower, 58 closed higher and 9 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 17.08 million shares and mutual fund units' worth Tk 415 million in turnover.
babulfexpress@gmail.com