Stocks open week in red

Stocks opened the week in the red, with the benchmark index of the Dhaka bourse increasing 36.58 points or 0.8 percent to close at 4,536.

“The pullback continued as investors went for profit booking on stocks that saw a short rally last week,” LankaBangla Securities said.

Turnover, an important indicator of the market, fell 7.23 percent to stand at Tk 468.23 crore on transactions of 12.39 crore shares and mutual fund units.

Of the traded issues, 84 advanced and 194 declined with 34 securities remaining unchanged on the premier bourse at the end of yesterday's trading.

Lafarge Surma Cement topped the turnover chart with 24.99 lakh shares worth Tk 29.54 crore changing hands, followed by Olympic Accessories, Beximco, ACI and United Power Generation and Distribution Company.

Standard Ceramic was the day's best performer, advancing 10 percent, while First Bangladesh Fixed Income Fund was the worst loser, slumping 9.83 percent.

Chittagong stocks fell yesterday with the bourse's benchmark index, CSCX, declining 78.24 points to stand at 8,498.42.