Dhaka stocks ended flat on Monday after increase in the previous four trading sessions with decline in turnover as investors adopted a ‘go-slow’ approach to cope with the fresh monetary policy declared by Bangladesh Bank after the trading closer on the day.
The benchmark general index of the bourse, DSEX, closed at 4,751.61 points, shedding 0.14 per cent or 6.75 points.
DS30, the blue-chip index of the DSE, declined by 0.78 per cent, or 13.20 points, to finish at 1,659.61 points.
Till Sunday of January, DSEX and DS30 increased by 491.82 points and 206.56 points respectively.
DSES, the shariah index of the bourse, declined by 0.48 per cent, or 4.77 points, to close at 982.26 points.
Turnover of the bourse declined to Tk 672.22 crore which was Tk 859 crore in the previous trading session.
Of the 293 shares and mutual funds changing hands, 102 advanced, 170 declined and 21 remained unchanged.
Market operators said that investors adopted a ‘go-slow’ strategy to assess the monetary policy which the central bank declared after the trading session.
Investors’ go-slow approach was the main reason behind the decline in the bourse’s turnover on the day, they said.
DSEX fell at 4,714.61 points within one-and-half hours of trading session and almost all the lost points recovered to close at 4,751.61 points due to some optimistic buying in the latter part of the trading session, they said.
‘Profit booking, particularly in large caps, checked DSEX from rising further today, putting a halt to 4-session long gaining streak of 200 points,’ IDLC Investments said in its daily market commentary.
‘As prices went for a sudden stop amid the rally, participation dropped to Tk 672 crore, as investors were assessing the situation.
However, positive movement in the largest sector of the market, namely, bank, helped the indices stay afloat,’ said the IDLC.
UCBL led the turnover chart on Monday as its shares worth Tk 24.87 crore changed hands.
Meghna Petroleum, Padma Oil, Barakatullah Electro Dynamics, LankaBangla Finance, Square Pharma, Olympic Industries, Delta Life Insurance, Southeast Bank and United Airways were among other turnover leaders.
National Tubes gained the most on the day as its share prices increased by 6.39 per cent, while Bengal Windsor Thermoplastics was the worst loser of the day shedding 9.95 per cent.
-With New Age input
