Price fall in large-cap drives stocks down

Business Desk :

Country’s both bourses, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) on Thursday plunged as broad-based selling pressure emerged across the trading board, reflecting profit-booking sentiment following three consecutive sessions of appreciation.

DSEX, the broad index of the DSE, shed by 32.3 points to settle at 5,234 points, as against 5,267 points in the previous trading session.

Despite an optimistic opening and the market indices staying afloat in green territory till the mid-session, the trading board observed a pullback since selling pressure gradually intensified in late hours as investors preferred to realize their recent gains.

Meanwhile, market turnover decreased by 17.5per cent to a TK 5.9 billion from TK 7.1 billion in the previous session. On the sectoral front, Bank (18.5per cent ) issues exerted the highest turnover, followed by Pharma (15.4per cent ) and Textile (11.5per cent ) sectors. Sectors displayed mixed returns, out of which Engineering (2.5per cent ), Mutual Fund (1.8per cent ) and Tannery (1.3per cent ) exhibited the most positive returns while Cement (-2.5per cent ), Life Insurance (-1.7per cent ) and Bank (-1.6per cent ) exerted the most corrections on the bourse yesterday.

Out of the 397 issues traded, 121 advanced, 219 declined and 57 remained unchanged.
The port city bourse, CSE, also settled on a negative zone. The Selective Categories’ Index (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) declined by 22.8 points and 29.5 points, respectively.