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Stocks snap two-day rally on Omicron fears

DSE daily turnover dips below Tk 8.0b-mark


December 30, 2021 00:00:00


FE REPORT

Stocks finished marginally lower on Wednesday, snapping a two-day rally, amid year-end sell-off and concern over new coronavirous variant Omicron.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has reported three more cases of Omicron on Wednesday, raising the tally to seven, which has already spread over 100 countries since its first detection in South Africa in early November.

The market moved between positive and negative several times before closing marginally lower amid lack of clear direction of the market.

DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 11.48 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 6,731, after gaining 112 points in the past two consecutive sessions.

Two other indices also edged lower with the DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, shedding 1.46 points to finish at 2,522 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) losing 4.19 points to close at 1,427.

Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, dropped to Tk 7.35 billion, which was 15.7 per cent lower than the previous day's tally of Tk 8.72 billion.

Market analysts said the risk-averse investors opted for booking profit on sector-wise stocks which saw sharp rise in the past two days amid growing tension over Omicron.

"Stocks failed to uphold the positive momentum as investors remained shaky ahead of year-closing," according to a stockbroker.

He noted that since the trading activity was volatile, many investors favoured sitting on cash, as a result turnover dropped by 16 per cent.

The investors' short-term profit-booking tendency pushed the core index to inch down in the red trajectory, commented EBL Securities.

The recent short-lived rally in the market lured many investors to sell-off as most of the stocks saw an upsurge in price after the securities regulator relaxed margin loan requirements for category-changing equities, said the stockbroker.

The declining turnover implied the investors' pessimistic sentiment and lack of confidence regarding the current market scenario, according to International Leasing Securities.

Major sectors faced modest corrections with cement losing the most of 1.40 per cent, followed by financial institutions with 1.10 per cent, general insurance 0.80 per cent and food 0.40 per cent and banking, power, pharma, telecom lost 0.10 per cent each.

Losers took a modest lead over the gainers, as out of 377 issues transacted, 196 declined, 133 advanced and 48 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, which gained 5.96 per cent, was the most traded stock with shares worth Tk 515 million changing hands, as the company posted the highest profit in six years.

The state-run corporation has reported a 73.67 per cent increase in profit during the FY 2020-2021 to Tk 719.9 million thanks to a surge in shipping fares, and a decrease in ship operating costs.

It was followed by Beximco (Tk 408 million), Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company (Tk 317 million), Beacon Pharma (Tk 259 million) and ONE Bank (Tk 223 million).

Alif Industries was the highest gainer, soaring 10 per cent while Savar Refractories was the day's worst loser, losing 5.20 per cent.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also edged lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -losing 17 points to settle at 19,621 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX-- shedding 12 points to close at 11,788.

Of the issues traded, 138 declined, 119 advanced and 37 remained unchanged on the CSE.

The port-city bourse traded 17.01 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 533 million.

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