Stocks fall in thin trade

Stocks declined for the second day yesterday as investor participation in trade declined for a half-day nationwide strike.

DSEX, the benchmark general index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, declined 28.48 points or 0.62 percent, to close at 4,559.

DSES, the shariah index of the Dhaka bourse, closed at 1,057 points, after falling 8.75 points or 0.82 percent.

“The market declined amid a weak participation by investors. This can be attributed to the nationwide strike,” said LankaBangla Securities.

Turnover, the most important indicator of the market, declined 21.85 percent to a three-week low of Tk 494 crore, compared to the previous day.

A total of 1.16 lakh trades were executed with 11.88 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands on the Dhaka bourse.

Losers beat gainers 172 to 99, while 26 remained unchanged out of the 297 issues that traded on the DSE floor.

Among the major sectors: banks declined marginally by 0.1 percent, while cement, power and pharmaceuticals dropped 1 percent, 0.41 percent and 0.40 percent respectively.

Beximco featured in the most traded stocks chart with a transaction of 94.61 lakh shares worth Tk 40 crore, followed by Beximco Pharma, MJL Bangladesh and Golden Son.

Mozaffar Hossain Spinning Mills was the highest gainer of the day, posting a gain of 7.41 percent, while Far East Knitting and Dyeing Industries was the worst loser, plunging 8.81 percent.

Chittagong Stock Exchange also declined yesterday with its selective categories index, CSCX, falling 74 points to close at 8,584.

Of the 217 issues, 135 declined, 55 advanced and 27 remained unchanged on the CSE floor that traded 1.05 crore shares and mutual fund units with a turnover of Tk 35 crore.