Stocks extended the losing streak on Tuesday, with the prime index of the Dhaka bourse slipping below 6,500 mark after two weeks, as economic uncertainty gripped investors.
The market opened on an upbeat note and remained positive until the mid-session, but the heavy selling pressure on particular stocks in the later part of the session pulled the index down.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), finally went down by 21.93 points or 0.33 per cent to settle at 6,489. DSEX shed 75 points in the past three trading days.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 14.94 billion on the premier bourse, which was 15 per cent higher than the previous day's mark of Tk 13 billion.
Block trade contributed Tk 1.28 billion to the total turnover, where Orion Pharma (Tk 163 million), Sonali Paper & Board Mills (124 million) and Fortune Shoes (Tk 112 million) dominated the block trade board.
Market insiders said investors followed a cautious stance as share prices of 170 companies remained stuck at their floor prices and a few companies dominated the market in the last few weeks.
Despite the bullish trend in the morning session the market went down after the mid-session due to the sale pressure of cautious investors on major sector stocks, said a merchant banker.
He noted that the price fall of Beacon Pharma, Beximco, Beximco Pahrma, United Power and LafargeHolcim drove the market index down as these five companies jointly contributed 17 points fall to the DSEX.
The key index fell below 6,500-mark as investors opted to stay on the sidelines amid global economic uncertainty caused by rising inflation worldwide, said International Leasing Securities.
Two other indices also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, plunged 15.47 points to finish at 2,316 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) shed 7.42 points to close at 1,413.
The pharmaceuticals sector topped the turnover chart, grabbing 16.60 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by miscellaneous (15.80 per cent) and services (9.20 per cent).
Most of the traded issues remained unchanged due to the 'floor price' restriction. Of the 370 issues traded, 136 closed lower, 60 higher and 174 others remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Most of the large-cap sectors posted negative performance. The power sector experienced the highest loss of 0.66 per cent, followed by pharmaceuticals with 0.36 per cent, engineering 0.25 per cent, non-bank financial institutions 0.19 per cent, banking 0.16 per cent and telecom 0.07 per cent.
Orion Pharma became the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 1.19 billion changing hands, followed by Beximco (Tk 941 million), Saif Powertec (Tk 674 million), Eastern Housing (Tk 633 million), and Bangladesh Spinning Corporation (Tk 625 million).
Index Agro Industries was the day's top gainer, soaring 9.54 per cent, while Jute Spinners was the worst loser, losing 6.99 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed marginally lower with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) losing 18 points to settle at 19,163 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) shedding 11 points to close at 11,486.
Of the issues traded, 94 declined, 60 advanced and 99 issues remained unchanged.
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