Dhaka stocks ended flat on Wednesday with a declining turnover amid volatile trading as investors took a cautious approach with an eye on the recent political developments.
The benchmark general index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, gained 0.03 per cent, or 1.18 points, to finish at 3,572.68 points on the day.DSEX on the day advanced by more than 10 points within 15 minutes of trading, but it declined more than 20 points in the next 20 minutes.
However, in the next one and half hours it gained about 20 points to enter the positive zone, where the bourse ended the day.
Market operators said the investors took a cautious approach to observe the political situation before making their next move as each and every decision on the political front affects the stock market.
If the political situation improves, it might give a positive signal to the stock market investors, they said.
On the other hand, failure to reach a solution regarding the next general election might increase political violence across the country, which will certainly have an adverse effect on the capital market, they observed.
Because of the market’s instability, a section of investors withdrew their funds and invested in other sectors, like making deposits to the banks, which was another reason behind the market’s instability, a senior officer of a merchant bank said.
The old benchmark general index of the bourse, DGEN, gained only 0.08 per cent, or 3.15 points, to finish at 3,701.89 points.
DS30, the blue-chip index of the bourse, ended with 1,321.18 points on the day, gaining 0.20 per cent, or 2.67 points.
‘Offbeat market sentiment and volatile political scenario yielded another flat end to DSEX as session closed. With expectations of further swings in political arena, investors kept watchful and slowed on further fresh positioning. In addition, after significant climb-up, a few scrips saw some profit taking,’ IDLC Investments said in its daily market commentary.
The turnover of the bourse declined to Tk 170.43 crore from the previous session’s Tk 219.78 crore.
Among the 268 shares and mutual funds traded on the day, 160 advanced, 90 declined and 18 issues remained unchanged.
CVO Petrochemical Refinery led the gainers’ list as its price went up by 9.95 per cent while Midas Finance lost the most, 8.43 per cent.
-With New Age input
