Dhaka stocks ended flat on Sunday despite active participation of a number of state-owned institutions on the trading floor as the investors became panicky amid fresh political unrest.
The benchmark general index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, finished at 3,468.56 points, gaining 0.01 per cent, or 0.38 points on the day.The DSEX had gained 29.28 points in the previous session after losing 133.79 points in the earlier nine.
The key index of the bourse lost more than 15 points in the first 10 minutes of trading, but it gained more than 30 points in the next 50 minutes to stand at 3484.94 points after one hour.
Market operators said investors’ presence on the trading floor was minimal due to the Hefajat-e-Islam blockade.
The turnover of the DSE declined to Tk 140.56 crore on the day from the earlier trading session’s Tk 171.12 crore.
The operators said the market trend had suggested that the state-owned institutions were active on the trading floor to keep the market afloat.
The investors had become optimistic on Thursday taking the prime minister’s call on the opposition party to sit for a dialogue as a sign of an end to the prolonged political crisis, merchant bankers observed.
Political stability is very much essential for a business-friendly environment and that’s why a sound political atmosphere is very much needed to attract investors in any sort of business, they added.
The political instability has become the prime cause of the sluggish trend in the stock market, they further said.
The old benchmark general index of the bourse, DGEN, gained 0.01 per cent, or 0.45 points, to close at 3,655.31 points on Sunday.
While the blue chip index of the bourse, DS30, declined by 0.12 per cent, or 1.62 points, to finish at 1,282.75 points.
Among the 273 shares and mutual funds traded on the day, 125 advanced, 118 declined and 30 remained unchanged.
Olympic Insurance topped the turnover chart as its shares worth Tk 9.09 crore changed hands while United Airways, CVO Petrochemical Refinery, Beximco followed the chart.
Rahim Textiles, whose shares went up by 9.92 per cent, led the gainers’ list followed by Apex Foods, ACI, CVO Petrochemical Refinery and Modern
Dyeing.
Bengal Windsor Thermoplastic lost the most, 5.72 per cent, while EBL NRB Mutual Fund, Sino Bangla Insurance and HR Textile followed the list.
-With New Age input
