Price fall in large-cap drives stocks down

Stocks on Monday witnessed a downward trend due mainly to price fall in large-cap securities.

The benchmark DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), fell 6.9 points to settle at 5,526, compared with 5,533 in the previous trading session, according report BSS.

Meanwhile, market turnover increased 2.6 percent to Tk 740 crore from Tk 720 crore in the previous session.

Textile stocks accounted for the highest share of turnover at 27.2 percent, followed by general insurance at 22.8 percent and pharmaceuticals at 10.1 percent.

Most sectors posted negative returns. Mutual funds declined 2.5 percent, followed by paper at 1.6 percent and tannery at 1.0 percent. In contrast, life insurance and general insurance gained 1.8 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

Of the 395 issues traded on the DSE, 123 advanced, 215 declined and 57 remained unchanged. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), showed a mixed trend.

Its selected index, CSCX, edged up 0.3 points while the All Share Price Index (CASPI) declined 5.6 points.