DSE index drops below 6,700 points
The stock market index dropped for a second consecutive day yesterday while turnover of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dropped to its lowest in the past one year.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of the premier bourse of the country, went down 26 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 6,694 at the end of the day.
Turnover, an important indicator of the market, dropped 7 per cent to Tk 575 crore yesterday from the previous day's Tk 620 crore. It was the lowest since April 13 of 2021 when it had stood at Tk 556 crore.
The stocks extended its losing streak and the broad index, DSEX, dipped below the 6700 mark again as the investors maintained their selling spree, said International Leasing Securities in its daily market review. The index has dropped below the 6700-point mark after 10 trading days.
The investors preferred to hold onto their cash fearing a price hike of necessities during Ramadan and for the worldwide ongoing economic turmoil, it said.
All the sectors witnessed price corrections except for cement that rose 1.7 per cent. Investors' attention was mainly concentrated on financial institution, accounting for 13 per cent of the turnover, alongside textile (11.5 per cent) and engineering (10.8 per cent).
Both the DS30, the blue-chip index, and the DSES, the Shariah-based index, dropped 4 points and 1 points respectively.
JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing topped the gainers' list with a 10 per cent rise. Rangpur Foundry, Gemini Sea Foods, Apex Tannery and VFS Thread Dyeing also saw major gains.
Fortune Shoes shed the most, dropping 2 per cent. Savar Refractories, Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh, Sonali Paper and Board Mills and Shyampur Sugar Mills were among those suffering heavy losses.
Beximco became the stock to be traded the most, with shares worth Tk 48 crore changing hands, followed by LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, IPDC Finance, GSP Finance, and VFS Thread Dyeing.
Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also fell yesterday. The CASPI, the main index of the CSE, edged down 54 points, or 0.27 per cent, to close the day at 19,646.
Of the 284 stocks to undergo trade, 61 rose, 193 fell and 30 did not see any price movement.