Stocks drop amid fresh political turmoil

With another political outbreak looming large, investors yesterday went on a selling spree to safeguard the value of their investments.
DSEX, the benchmark general index of Dhaka bourse, finished the day at 3,515.95 points, after falling 9.17 points, or 0.26 percent.
Turnover dropped 24.94 percent to Tk 133 crore, the lowest in two weeks.
“The market ended flat amid topsy-turvy trading as institutional investors, fearing political instability, adopted a wait-and-see policy,” a stockbroker said, preferring not to be named.
Moreover, the anticipation of underwhelming annual earnings report is holding some institutional investors back from making any new investment, he added.
A total of 0.54 lakh trades were executed during the day, with 4.24 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands on the DSE floor.
Of the 270 issues that traded, 102 advanced, 138 declined and 30 remained unchanged.
Among the major sectors, pharma gained 0.37 percent, while non-bank financial institutions lost 0.66 percent, power 0.54 percent, telecoms 0.36 percent and banks 0.14 percent.
RN Spinning Mills topped the performance chart with its transaction of 33.77 lakh shares worth Tk 10.87 crore.
Bengal Windsor Thermoplastic and Summit Purbanchol Power Company were the next popular stocks of the day.
ACI Formulations was the biggest gainer of the day, posting a 9.90 percent gain, while Global Insurance was the biggest loser, plunging by 13.10 percent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also declined yesterday, with the CSCX, the selective categories index, dropping 55.99 points, or 0.80 percent, to close the day at 6,940.38 points.
Losers beat gainers by 122 to 43, with 25 securities remaining unchanged on the port city bourse that recorded a transaction of 61.19 lakh shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 17.59 crore.