DSE drops amid mixed trading

Business Report :

Stocks suffered a major setback on Monday as both the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) closed sharply lower, with most shares ending in the red.
At the DSE, the benchmark DSEX Index fell 54.87 points to 5,061.01, while the Shariah-based DSES Index dropped 12.36 points to 1,066.62 and the blue-chip DS30 Index declined 21.94 points to 1,960.99.

Market activity showed a negative trend, with 300 companies’ shares declining, 45 advancing, and 53 remaining unchanged. Across all categories -A, B, and Z most shares fell, including 166 A-category companies.

Trading turnover at the DSE slipped to BDT 518 crore from BDT 544 crore in the previous session. Block market transactions totaled BDT 29 crore, led by Prime Bank PLC, which accounted for over BDT 10 crore in sales.

Among the gainers, National Tubes Limited led with a 7.09 percent rise, followed by CAPM BDBL at 6.30 percent, Asiatic Labs at 5.18 percent, United Commercial Bank (UCB) at 5.10 percent, and Information Services Network at 4.88 percent. On the other hand, Fareast Finance & Investment Limited was the worst performer, falling over 10 percent.

The bearish trend extended to the CSE, where the CASPI Index dropped 87 points.
Out of the traded shares, 126 declined, 42 rose, and 25 remained unchanged. Despite the fall in indexes, turnover on the CSE rose to BDT 24 crore from BDT 16 crore in the previous session, indicating increased trading activity.

Overall, while the market faced downward pressure, selective gains in certain companies reflected investor confidence in specific sectors amid broader market weakness.