Stocks fall in thin trade

Stocks declined 2.06 percent yesterday as the participation of institutional investors in the market was low.
The benchmark General Index, the yardstick of Dhaka Stock Exchange, fell 107.76 points to 5,114.49 at the 3pm close.
“The market continued its downtrend due to the liquidity crunch as individual and institutional investors were unable to inject money into the market,” LankaBangla Securities said in its daily market analysis.
“Institutional investors are not playing their due roles,” said Akter H Sannamat, a chartered accountant and market analyst.
Turnover declined 19.2 percent, compared with the previous day. A total of 0.98 lakh trades were executed, generating a turnover of Tk 327.81 crore, with 6.49 crore shares traded.
Of the total 261 issues traded on the DSE: 15 advanced, 261 declined and five remained unchanged.
Small-cap stocks dominated the list of yesterday's top gainers. Modern Dyeing and Screen Printing was the top gainer of the day followed by Kohinoor Chemicals and Jute Spinners. These three stocks gained 7 percent, 5.84 percent and 2.25 percent.
On the other hand, Investment Corporation of Bangladesh First NRB Mutual Fund was the top loser followed by Savar Refractories. These three stocks lost 7.62 percent, 7.09 percent and 7.06 percent.
Among the major sectors, non-bank financial institutions retraced 2.67 percent, power 2.21 percent and pharmaceuticals 1.70 percent. Banks and the telecoms sector lost more than 1 percent each.
United Airways was the turnover over leader with 60.29 lakh shares worth Tk 14.18 crore changing hands.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange declined yesterday with the Selective Categories Index losing 148.84 points or 1.56 percent, to end the day at 9,395.67.
Losers beat gainers 167 to 20 with six securities remaining unchanged on the port city bourse. More than 73.81 crore shares and mutual fund units traded with a value of Tk 34.62 crore.