Economic Reporter :
Stocks closed flat on Sunday, the first session of the week, supported by the last hours buying mainly on banks.
The markets stayed negative throughout the session but mostly remained rangebound. A bout of profit-booking took place on the insurers that remained hot over the last few weeks.
The benchmark DSEX index added 16 points or 0.27 percent to 6,010. It remained flat most of the sessions since the psychological barrier of 6,000-mark last week.
Other indices, the Shariah-based DSES index rose 9 points or 0.70 percent to 1,281 and the blue-chip DS30 index moved down 3 points or 0.16 percent to 2,193.
The investor participation in trading also remained flat as the volume of trade declined slightly 0.6 percent to over Tk 1,835 crore over the previous session. The general insurance sector dominated the turnover chart covering 25.91 percent of total turnover. Block trades contributed more than 13 percent of the overall market turnover.
The rally in share prices of banks, NBFI, tannery, and ceramics sectors helped the market to edge higher. General insurance, life insurance and IT sectors experienced profit-booking selling pressure.
Pioneer Insurance Company Ltd was the most traded share with a turnover of Tk 1,63 crore, toppling Beximco Ltd-the flagship company of Beximco Group- after months.
The other top turnover leaders included Orion Pharmaceuticals, National Feed Mills Ltd, Beximco Pharmaceuticals and Fortune Shoes.
