Business Desk :
Stocks slipped into the red on Thursday, despite most of the issues closed positive, as investors opted for booking on selective large-cap shares.
The market opened on a positive note and the key index of the prime bourse touched the 7,400-mark in the mid-day but failed to sustain that level amid profit booking on selective large-cap stocks.
Finally, DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 8.07 points or 0.10 per cent to settle at 7,342 points after adding 23 points in the past two days.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, suffered the most and lost 20.42 points to finish at 2,767 as large-cap stocks such as LafargeHolcim and Beximco took a big hit on Thursday.
The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) also shed 4.46 points or close at 1,595.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, also dropped slightly to Tk 24.97 billion on the prime bourse, which was 6.86 per cent lower than the previous day’s tally of Tk 26.81 billion.
Market insiders said the cautious investors booked profit on selective large-cap stocks which saw a significant gain in the past few days, taking the market indices in the red zone.
The top negative index contributors were LafargeHolcim, Beximco, ICB, Grameenphone and Orion Pharma.
Gainers took a strong lead over the losers, as out of 373 issues traded, 218 closed higher, 117 lower and 38 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, which saw a 5.61 per cent correction, topped the day’s turnover chart with shares of Tk 2.38 billion changing hands, closely followed by Orion Pharma, Power Grid Company, Paramount Textile and Beximco.
Indo-Bangla Pharmaceuticals was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 9.95 per cent while Meghna Life Insurance was the day’s worst loser, plunging by 17.81 per cent following its price adjustment after the record date.
Meghna Life Insurance has declared 15 per cent cash and 15 per cent stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2020. The annual general meeting is scheduled to be held on October 27.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI -shedding 79 points to settle at 21,441 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX – losing 46 points to close at 12,879.
Of the issues traded, 157 advanced, 131 declined and 24 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city’s bourse traded 27.80 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 1.07 billion.
