Stocks slip as turnover stands low

Dhaka (Nov 22, 2020): Dhaka stocks experienced a relatively dull session on Sunday with the key index closing in the red zone.

In the morning, the trading began on a negative note and the momentum continued until closure of the session.

At the end of the day, the DSEX lost over 34 points or 0.71 percent to 4,845, dragged down by financial stocks and mutual funds.

Among other indices, DSES Index was down by almost 5 points or 0.5 percent to 1,123 and blue chip DS30 index shed 13 points or 0.8 percent to 1,687.

The turnover in value declined further stood at over Tk 495 crore, sharply down by over 15 percent over the previous session.

Amid the downcast sentiment, the general insurance sector shined, rising the highest 0.7 percent. Among other sectors, cement and engineering declined. Low cap companies from different sectors continued to place among the day's top gainers.

Investors’ wait-and-see policy on apprehension of a new bout of lockdown because of rising COVID-19 infections and ongoing Robi IPO subscription continued to leave an adverse impact on the volume of trade, according to brokers.

 “We expect the market might remain volatile with subdued sentiment until the dust of coronavirus settles down,” an analyst said.

Out of total 344 issues traded, 196 declined, 70 advanced while the value of 78 stocks remained unchanged.

Beximco Pharmaceuticals continued to dominate the trading as it remained the most traded stock for the fourth straight day with shares worth over Tk 43 crore changing hands, followed by Beximco, ADN Telecom, Paramount Insurance, BRAC Bank, SS Steel, Quasem Industries, Grameen Scheme Two, Provati Insurance, Pioneer Insurance and Associated Oxygen Limited.

Provati Insurance gained highest, increasing by 7 percent to Tk 81 per share as it earlier reported that its third quarter (July-September) EPS increased to Tk 0.58 from Tk 0.53 recorded a year ago.

Summit Alliance Port Limited suffered most as it declined more than 11 percent in its first trading day after record date.