Stocks keep losing for third day

Stocks extended their losing streak for the third day, as price correction continued on Wednesday amid lack of market triggers.

DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, declined nearly 14 points or 0.25 per cent, before finishing the day at 5,395 points.

The market showed rising trend till the middle of the day and fell again substantially at the end.

Analysts said the market players were trading nervously as volatility spiked amid lack of market triggers.

"It seems that the market has entered into a correction phase again as the investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the national budget," said a stockbroker.

The national budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2018-2019 is scheduled to be unveiled on June 7.

The DSE prime index eroded more than 344 points or 6.0 per cent in 20 trading days in May.

He noted that the investors' participation in the market remained sluggish as ongoing pessimism kept investors mostly inactive.

Two other indices also fell marginally. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, shed 4.22 points to settle at 2,001 and the DSE Shariah Index lost 2.86 points to close at 1,251.

Turnover, the most important indicator of the market, also came down to Tk 4.61 billion, which was 18 per cent lower than the previous session's Tk 5.64 billion.

According to the International Leasing Securities, the market opened with positive note, but shaky investors sold shares from the middle of the session, pushing the market in the red zone.

Pharmaceutical, bank and engineering sectors saw selling pressure while IT, fuel & power, and food sectors got investors' attention, said the stockbroker.

The large-cap sectors showed negative performance except power and food & allied, which gained 1.36 per cent and 0.35 per cent respectively.

The pharmaceuticals sector posted the highest loss of 0.62 per cent, followed by banking with 0.61 per cent, engineering 0.56 per cent, telecommunication 0.37 per cent and financial institutions 0.35 per cent.

Of the traded issues, 147 advanced and 131 declined with 23 issues closed unchanged on the premier bourse.

Beximco topped the DSE turnover chart with shares worth Tk 274 million changing hands, closely followed by Alif Industries, Golden Harvest Agro Industries, Intraco Refueling Station and Nahee Aluminum Composite Panel.

Alif Industries was the day's highest gainer, posting a gain of 9.94 per cent while Phoenix Insurance was the day's worst loser, losing 7.03 per cent.

The port city bourse CSE also closed marginally lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - shedding 15 points to settle at 16,687 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - losing 11 points to finish at 10,098 points.

The gainers took a modest lead over the losers as 99 issues closed higher and 89 ended lower, with 42 issues remaining unchanged on the CSE.

The port city bourse traded 6.13 million shares and mutual fund units worth more than Tk 218 million in turnover.

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