Only dozen stocks up as markets fall

The key indexes of the stock markets in Bangladesh fell yesterday as investors booked profits and continued their wait and see approach as the economy reels from the global crisis.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, lost 34 points, or 0.55 per cent, to close at 6,197, snapping the two-day gain.

The DS30, the blue-chip index, dropped 0.49 per cent to 2,191 while the DSES, the shariah-compliant index, edged down 0.68 per cent to 1,354.

Turnover, an important indicator of the market, however, advanced 22 per cent to Tk 426 crore.

Of the securities, only 10 advanced, 73 declined, and 210 did not show any price movement.

The Dhaka stocks slipped into the red after a two-day break as risk-averse investors continued their selling binge and followed a cautious stance amid a gloomy outlook of the economy, said International Leasing Securities Limited in its daily market analysis.

Yesterday, the market, however, started on a positive note but the shaky investors went for desperate selloffs due to a lack of clear direction of the future market movement.

The investors also liquidated their investment from the small-cap IT, service, paper, life insurance and travel sectors, the brokerage house said.

Thus, the IT sector lost 5.4 per cent, the service sector was down 3.7 per cent and the paper sector declined 2.8 per cent. Only the jute sector ended in the black as it rose 1.5 per cent.

Investors' activity was mostly centred on the IT, life insurance and paper sectors.

Jute Spinners topped the gainers' list with a 7.48 per cent increase.

Monno Agro & General Machinery, Paper Processing & Packaging, Kay & Que (Bangladesh), and Sonali Paper & Board Mills were also on the list.

Bashundhara Paper Mills took the top spot among the heavy losers by shedding more than 10 per cent. Genex Infosys, Summit Alliance Port, Eastern Housing, and BDCOM Online suffered significant losses as well.

Genex Infosys was the most-traded stock on the day with its shares worth Tk 43 crore transacted. Bashundhara Paper Mills, Chartered Life Insurance Company, Aamra Networks, and Orion Pharma also saw significant turnover.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange also fell.

The Caspi, the all-share price index of the bourse in the port city, lost 72 points, or 0.39 per cent, to close at 18,329.

Of the issues, 12 rose, 45 retreated and 57 did not see any price movement. Turnover plummeted more than 58 per cent to Tk 7 crore.