Dhaka stocks declined for the third session on Thursday as investors continued to be in cautious over the possible political unrest after the Eid-ul-Fitr.
The key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, declined to 3,911.75 points, shedding 0.73 per cent or 29.05 points. The DSEX have now lost 63.37 points in the last three trading sessions.
The blue chip index of the bourse, DS30, lost 0.40 per cent, or 5.95 points, to finish flat at 1,477.11 points.
The turnover of the bourse declined to Tk 302.83 crore from the previous session’s Tk 344.73 crore.
Of the 287 shares and mutual funds traded on the day, 111 advanced, 139 declined and 37 remained unchanged.
Market operators said that a major section of the investors remained inactive on the trading floor to observe the political situation before making their next move as the High Court on the day declared the registration of the Jammat-e-Islami as a political party illegal.
The opposition parties’ intention to go for tougher agitation programmes to press home the demand for a caretaker government after the Eid-ul-Fitr also made them
apprehensive about the market, which
resulted in the market’s slugging trend, said the operators.
Sell-offs by the retail investors to get some cash ahead of the festive days was another reason behind the downtrend, they added.
‘With Q2 declarations slowly passing by, and long closure of Eid-ul-Fitr approaching, the bourse observed another session of fading excitements. Participation continued to shrink, as cautious investors kept on rebalancing their portfolios keeping in mind the long Eid closure ahead,’ IDLC Investments said in its daily market commentary.
‘Especially, worries over potential post-Eid political volatility have been a
driving factor behind wary attitude of investors,’ it said.
‘In the meantime, scrip wise movements were significant, as several companies declared earnings today,’ it added further.
Olympic Industries led the turnover chart on
the day as its shares worth Tk 30.22 crore changed hands.
Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Meghna Petroleum, Family Tex, Square Pharmaceuticals, Padma Oil, Grameenphone, Jamuna Oil, RN Spinning Mills and Beximco were the other turnover leaders on the day.
Meghna Cement gained the most on Thursday as the price of its shares increased by 9.94 per cent, while Imam Button lost the most, 8.97 per cent.
-With New Age input
