Stocks dip amid choppy trading

Stocks slipped back into the red on Sunday, after a single-session break, as investors booked profits with cautious positioning.

Market analysts said the investors mostly followed cautious stance in the month of holy Ramadan while some selling shares after poor quarterly earnings declaration by a number of companies.

The government took a set of market supportive measures including redefine the banks' capital market exposure to increase the fund flow in the capital market.

The central bank has decided in principle to exempt banks' investments in non-listed companies from capital market exposure, a move that can give banks plenty of room for fresh investments in the stock market.

However, the government market supportive measures virtually failed to revive investors' confidence yet, said a leading broker.

Turnover, another important indicator of the market, also fell to Tk 3.58 billion, which was 4.78 per cent lower than the previous day's turnover of Tk 3.76 billion.

The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange, also ended marginally lower with its CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -shedding 12 points to settle at 16,173 points and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX -losing 8.0 points to finish at 9,792. The gainers beat losers, as 114 issues closed higher, 95 ended lower and 18 remained unchanged.

The port city bourse traded 8.60 million shares and mutual fund units worth nearly Tk 229 million in turnover.

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