Business Desk :
Stocks extended the losing streak for the eight consecutive sessions Thursday as the late hours selling pressure wiped-out the early gains.
The market opened higher and the key index rose about 60 points in the first 12 minutes of trading but went down gradually as the session progressed, ultimately ending over 12 points lower.
DSEX, the prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 12.27 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 6,126.
DSEX shed more than 240 points while the market-cap wiped-out Tk 163 billion in the past eight days after Eid vacation.
Two other indices also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 5.24 points to finish at 2,200 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 1.16 points to close at 1,345.
Market operators said the bargain hunters came up to buy on lucrative stocks in the early trading but the jittery investors took it as an opportunity to exit from the market, pushing the index down further.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 6.76 billion, which was 1.65 per cent higher than the previous day’s tally of Tk 6.65 billion.
Out of 381 issues traded, 218 declined, 115 advanced and 47 remained unchanged.
S Alam Cold Rolled Steel was the top gainer, soaring 9.90 per cent, while Asia Insurance was the worst loser, losing 2.0 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI -losing 62 points to settle at 17,968 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX -shedding 37 points to close at 10,764.
Of the issues traded, 159 declined, 75 advanced and 42 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city’s bourse traded 5.81 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value worth Tk 171 million.
