Stocks ended almost flat Wednesday with turnover falling further as investors went on late-hour selling binge, especially the stocks of banks and power sectors.
Analysts said the market ended flat after high volatility as a section of the investors continued booking profit while some others were busy rebalancing portfolio amid ongoing dividend declarations and upcoming quarterly disclosures.
The market started the session positively and added 46 points in the first half, but investors started liquidating their holdings in the second half, leading the prime index to close flat, International Leasing Securities said in its regular market analysis.
After witnessing see-saw movement throughout the session, DSEX, the prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,793, advancing 2.76 points or 0.04 per cent.
"The market closed flat as investors continued with their profit taking intents, led by mainly banks, power and non-bank financial institutions sectors," commented AT Capital Partners, an asset management company, in its regular market analysis.
The DS30, comprising the blue-chips, also edged up by 1.25 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 2,167. However, the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) fell 2.37 points or 0.17 per cent to finish at 1,348.
According to EBL Securities, "Dhaka stocks edged up after previous day's correction as upward revision in gross domestic product (GDP) forecast has posed a positive impact on investors' mind."
The government said Tuesday Bangladesh's GDP growth rate is expected to hit 7.65 per cent in the current financial year, supported by the industrial and agriculture sectors.
Turnover, the another crucial indicator of the market, fell 1.62 per cent to Tk 5.46 billion, against Tk 5.55 billion in the previous session.
Banking sector kept its dominance in turnover, accounting for 21 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by engineering with 17 per cent and textile 11 per cent.
The large-cap sectors showed mixed performance. Banks posted the highest loss of 0.37 per cent, followed by power 0.14 per cent, non-bank financial institutions 0.13 per cent and engineering 0.04 per cent.
Food & allied posted a gain of 0.32 per cent, followed by telecommunication 0.10 per cent and pharmaceuticals 0.09 per cent -- both of which closed flat in green.
The losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of the 336 issues traded, 152 closed lower, 147 closed higher and 37 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Brac Bank led the DSE turnover with about 4.88 million shares worth Tk 492 million changing hands, followed by IFAD Autos, Unique Hotel & Resorts, Beximco and Aamra Networks.
Rupali Life Insurance was the day's highest gainer, posting a 9.97 per cent rise while CAPM IBBL Islamic Mutual Fund was the worst loser, losing by 6.03 per cent.
However, port city bourse CSE ended in the red with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - shedding 8.41 points to settle at 17,840 points and Selective Categories Index - CSCX -losing 3.84 points to finish at 10,784 points.
The losers beat the gainers as 122 issues closed lower, 85 ended higher and 27 issues remained unchanged.
The port city bourse traded 7.01 million shares and mutual fund units worth nearly Tk 182 million in turnover.
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