Stocks drop below the 4,000-mark

Dhaka Stock Exchange's benchmark index, DSEX, yesterday dipped below the psychological 4,000 point-mark for the first time in one and half months, as institutional investors adopted a go-slow policy.
The index closed the day at 3,968.79 points, after dropping 1.11 percent or 44.58 points.
“It was a weak start to the week as the tenure of current government has almost come to an end but no significant progress has been made concerning imminent election,” LankaBangla Securities said in its analysis.
The uncertainty had a big negative impact on the stock market, the stockbroker said.
Mutual funds caught investors' focus yesterday as most of them were “trading below their respective net asset value”, said IDLC Investments in its analysis.
As a result, eight mutual funds appeared in the top ten gainers' list with increased turnover, the merchant bank added.
Turnover, the most important indicator of the market, advanced 9.60 percent from the previous day to Tk 332 crore.
A total of 0.99 lakh traders were executed, with 9.68 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands on the Dhaka bourse.
Of the 291 issues that traded on the DSE floor, 81 advanced, 195 declined and 15 remained unchanged.
Amid the major sectors, engineering lost 2.97 percent, textile 2.36 percent, cement 2.07 percent and non-life insurance 1.81 percent.
However, banks gained 0.01 percent and life insurance 0.01 percent.
Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company was the most traded stock during the day; its transaction stood at 11.31 lakh shares worth Tk 25.86 crore. The company also plunged 10.22 percent and along the way topped the losers chart as well.
Prime Finance First Mutual Fund, which increased 9.95 percent in value, was the biggest gainer of the day.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also declined yesterday, with its selective category index, CSCX, dropping 107.94 points to close at 7,730.47 points.
Losers beat gainers by 152 to 52, with 10 issues remaining unchanged on the port city bourse that traded 1.06 crore shares and mutual fund units at a turnover of Tk 30.57 crore.
However, Northern Jute Manufacturing Company has been halted for rest of the day by DSE management for unusual price hike of shares.