Stocks passed another downbeat session on Monday as the jittery investors close to book profits on large-cap pharmaceuticals issues after the recent price surge.
The market opened on a positive note and the key index rose about 23 points within the first hour of trading. But the profit booking tendency of the investors eroded all the early gains.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), finally went down by 9.99 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 6,528. DSEX shed nearly 32 points in the two trading days.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, also fell to Tk 13.61 billion on the premier bourse, which was 20 per cent lower than the previous day's mark of Tk 16.92 billion.
Most of the traded issues, however, remained unchanged due to the 'floor price' restriction. Of the 378 issues traded, 124 advanced, 115 declined and 139 others remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Market operators said stocks fell further as the risk-averse investors continued to book profit on large-cap stocks taking the advantage of the recent price surge.
The cautious investors booked some profits on selective stocks while some were busy reshuffling their portfolio ahead of dividend declarations by June-closing companies, said a merchant banker.
The investors sold some stocks of big-cap pharmaceuticals companies such as Beximco Pharma, Orion Pharma, Beacon Pharma to realize profits, which caused the index to drop further, he said.
The market saw a see-saw movement throughout the session as investors were active on both sides of the divide amid profit-taking tendency of some investors, said EBL Securities.
The stockbroker noted that the lack of confidence of investors was evident as they were unable to settle down for sector-specific stocks and instead sought quick gains.
According to International Leasing Securities, the market dropped for the second day as the shaky investors continued their selling binge in the major sector of stocks.
Most of the large-cap sectors posted marginal gains. Food & allied booked the highest gain of 0.22 per cent, followed by engineering with 0.14 per cent gain, banking 0.07 per cent, telecom 0.07 per cent and financial institutions 0.07 per cent.
On the other hand, pharmaceuticals and power sectors suffered losses of 0.70 per cent and 0.20 per cent respectively.
Two other indices also edged lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, plunged 16.67 points to finish at 2,356 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) fell 2.68 points to close at 1,429.
The miscellaneous sector dominated the turnover chart, grabbing 24 per cent of the day's total transactions, followed by pharmaceuticals (22 per cent) and engineering (9.0 per cent).
Beximco became the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 1.98 billion changing hands. It was closely followed by Orion Pharma (Tk 1.54 billion), Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 572 million), JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing (Tk 525 million) and Nahee Aluminum Composite Panel (Tk 478 million).
JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing was the day's top gainer, soaring 9.96 per cent while Sonargaon Textiles was the worst loser, losing 9.0 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also edged lower with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) falling 61 points to settle at 19,198 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) losing 38 points to close at 11,508.
Of the issues traded, 110 advanced, 81 declined and 100 issues remained unchanged.
The port-city bourse traded 6.58 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 279 million.
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