Most stocks fall as companies report losses, lower profit

Most of the shares on Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges fell yesterday as investors booked profit and remained cautious as most companies reported either profit declines or losses.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), lost 7 points, or 0.12 per cent, to close the day at 6,288, breaking a five-day winning run.

The DS30, the blue-chip index, rose 0.02 per cent to 2,231 while the DSES, the shariah-compliant index, dropped 0.18 per cent to 1,371.

Turnover, an important indicator of the market, dropped about 3 per cent to Tk 489 crore.

The losers were strong as out of 343 securities traded on the DSE, 142 declined, 26 advanced and 175 remained unchanged.

Though the market started on an upbeat note, the upward trend couldn't sustain after the first hour of the trading session, said International Leasing Securities Limited.

The stocks slipped into the red as risk-averse investors went for a quick profit booking and followed a cautious stance amid quarter-end earnings declarations

The stocks slipped into the red as risk-averse investors went for a quick profit booking and followed a cautious stance amid quarter-end earnings declarations.

"The jittery investors are cautiously reshuffling their portfolios based on upcoming earning expectations as most of the companies reported de-growth of their earnings," said the brokerage house.

Anlima Yarn Dyeing topped the gainers' list with an increase of 6.2 per cent. Olympic Industries was up 6 per cent, Sinobangla Industries rose 5.5 per cent, Summit Alliance Port advanced 5.4 per cent, and Gemini Sea Food gained 3.8 per cent.

EGeneration Ltd topped the list of losers by shedding more than 7.6 per cent. Metro Spinning, Meghna Life Insurance, Eastern Cables, and National Housing suffered substantial losses as well.

Bashundhara Paper Mills was the most-traded stock on the day at the premier bourse in Bangladesh with its shares worth Tk 51 crore transacted. Genex Infosys, Eastern Housing, Aamra Networks, and Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa also witnessed significant turnover.

Among the sectors, service was up 2.6 per cent and travel advanced by 2.2 per cent.

The IT sector and the life insurance sector both slipped 1.6 per cent, while the paper sector was down 1 per cent.

Investors' activities were mainly focused on the IT sector, capturing 15.8 per cent of the day's turnover. The paper sector accounted for 11.3 per cent of the turnover and the services sector represented 9.4 per cent.

The Caspi, the all-share price index of the Chittagong Stock Exchange, rose 5.3 points, or 0.03 per cent, to close at 18,570.

Of the issues that traded on the bourse in the port city, only 25 advanced, 59 retreated and 62 did not see any price swing.

Turnover plummeted 70 per cent to Tk 6.53 crore. It was Tk 21.39 crore on Thursday.