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Profit booking pulls stocks down --

Four 'Z' category stocks feature in top gainers' list


FE REPORT | April 11, 2023 00:00:00


The stock market ended lower on Monday amid persistent volatility as investors were mostly cautious to put fresh bets in stocks ahead of the Eid festival to be celebrated in the third week of April.

Retail investors were selling shares to pull out money ahead of the biggest festival for Muslims as only six trading days are left before the Eid-ul-Fitr vacation, market operators said.

The market witnessed heavy sale pressure from the beginning of the session, ultimately eroding over 12 points at closing.

DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 12.47 points or 0.20 per cent to settle at 6,201, after losing 0.18 points on the previous day.

Price fall of selective stocks such as Kohinoor Chemical, Unique Hotel & Resorts, Shipping Corporation, Prime Bank, and Delta Life Insurance dragged the market down as they jointly contributed 7 points fall, according to amarstock.com, a market data analyst.

The profit-booking tendency among investors caused the market volatility, while most of them were reluctant to put fresh funds ahead of Eid, said a stockbroker.

Besides, the market movement was mostly on a handful of stocks as large-cap stocks remained stuck at floor price in the last few months due to the limited liquidation opportunities, he said.

The DS30 Index, which consists of blue-chip companies, also shed 3.07 points to 2,197. The DSES Index, which represents Shariah-based companies, also plunged 3.53 points to finish at 1,344.

Stocks closed in the red as investors continued partial liquidation of their holdings amidst the prevailing bearish sentiment in the market, said EBL Securities.

"The market maintained a downbeat vibe throughout the session as sellers dominated the trading floor, since investors preferred to remain watchful ahead of the upcoming corporate declaration," said the stockbroker.

The stockbroker noted that the prolonged volatile sentiment in the market has induced investors to prefer short-term profit booking over taking long-term positions in equities.

Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, fell further and amounted to Tk 4.69 billion, which was 6 per cent lower than the previous day's mark of Tk 4.99 billion.

According to International Leasing Securities, stocks plunged as the risk-averse investors went on a quick profit-booking sell-offs on selective stocks which saw price appreciation in the last few sessions.

The investors liquidated their investment from IT, paper, travel, and life insurance sectors that achieved short-term upsurge during the last few sessions, it added.

Despite the market plunge, the day's top gainers' chart was dominated by low-profile companies as four 'Z' category companies featured in the day's top gainers' list.

Four 'Z' category stocks such as BD Welding Electrode, Shyampur Sugar Mills, Meghna Pet Industries, and Zeal Bangla Sugar Mills gained 8.81 per cent, 5.36 per cent, 3.34 per cent, and 3.01 per cent respectively on Monday.

The majority of the stocks remained unchanged. Of the 311 issues traded, 88 declined, 36 advanced and 187 issues remained unchanged.

Apex Footwear was the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 300 million changing hands, closely followed by Aamra Networks (Tk 264 million), Gemini Sea Food (Tk 239 million), Orion Infusion (Tk 236 million) and Genex Infosys (Tk 213 million).

Beach Hatchery was the top gainer, posting a 9.86 per cent gain while Al-Haj Textile was the day's worst loser, losing 6.21 per cent.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -losing 11 points to settle at 18,298 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX -shedding 7 points to close at 10,968.

Of the issues traded, 37 declined, 22 advanced and 57 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.

The port city's bourse traded 1.91 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value worth nearly Tk 107 million.

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