FE REPORT
Stocks slipped into the red on Monday, snapping a five-day winning streak, as jittery investors preferred to pocket profits on quick-gaining stocks.
Market analysts said the market failed to stay afloat as risk-averse investors realized their gains from the recently rallied stocks.
Price fall of selective stocks, including some blue chips such as BAT Bangladesh, Beacon Pharma, Square Pharma, Kohinoor Chemicals, Unique Hotel & Resorts, and National Bank dragged the market index down. These stocks accounted for almost half of Monday's index plunge.
The market opened lower, influenced heavily by the news of much talked-about revenue official Matiur Rahman's placement share scams published in several mainstream newspapers on Monday.
Matiur acquired shares of more than a dozen companies in private placements at cheap prices and sold the holdings at high prices after the listing, breaching several legal provisions.
On Monday, sellers remained predominant right from the start of the session as they were wary of the market's momentum. That drove the intraday index below the 5,200 mark.
Later, buying behaviour on sector-specific stocks supported a slight recovery from the initial plunge.
The DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, finally slid almost 27 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 5,220. With this, it recovered 177 points in the past five trading days.
The market pulse shifted to correction mode again after a recent short-lived optimism, said EBL Securities.
"Stocks failed to uphold the recovery mode as risk-averse investors were on selling mode since overall market sentiment remains subdued amidst an uncertain market outlook," said the stockbroker.
Apparently, market participation remained almost the same and amounted to Tk 4.80 billion, from Tk 4.86 billion the day before.
Food, pharma and banking sectors accounted for almost 58 per cent of the day's total turnover.
The DS30 index, a group of 30 prominent companies, fell by more than 9 points to 1,868, while the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, lost 4 points to 1,143.
Most of the sectors posted negative performance. Travel & leisure saw the highest loss of 2.20 per cent, followed by service, general insurance, life insurance, and ceramics sectors.
On the other hand, non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) posted the highest gain of 3.6 per cent, followed by engineering, telecom, and textile sectors.
Losers outnumbered gainers, as out of 395 issues traded, 255 saw price correction, 92 witnessed price appreciation while 48 issues remained unchanged on the DSE floor.
Linde Bangladesh, which saw a 1.61 per cent correction after a sharp gain in the preceding two days, became the most-traded stocks, with shares worth Tk 232 million changing hands, closely followed by Sea Pearl Beach, Capitec Growth Fund, BAT Bangladesh, and Rupali Life Insurance.
Samata Leather Complex was the top gainer, rising almost 10 per cent, while Apex Spinning & Knitting was the worst loser, enduring 3 per cent correction.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also retreated into the red, with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI) shedding 95 points to 14,726 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) losing 60 points to 8,862.
Of the issues traded, 146 declined, 51 advanced, and 24 others remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 2.24 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover volume of Tk 212 million.
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