STAR BUSINESS REPORT

Stocks in Bangladesh maintained their downward spiral for a fifth consecutive day yesterday as skittish investors made fresh bets on lucrative blue-chip and large-cap scrips to pocket short-term gains in the face of price fluctuations.

Blue-chip stocks are of companies widely recognised, well-established, and financially sound. Large-cap stocks are of companies that account for large amounts in market capitalisation, calculated based on the total value of their outstanding stocks.

Shares of many financially sound companies reached lucrative lows after recent price corrections, according to an investor based in Dhaka.

As such, the DSEX edged down by 0.86 percent from the previous day to close at about 5,679 points, marking the fifth day of decline for the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

The DSES index comprising Shariah-compliant companies also shed 0.60 percent to about 1,221 points while the DS30 index representing blue-chip stocks slipped by 0.67 percent to 2,100 points.

The day’s turnover, which indicates the total value of shares traded on the DSE, stood at Tk 678.8 crore, an increase of 0.58 percent compared to the previous day’s trading session.

The pharmaceuticals sector dominated the turnover chart, contributing 19.15 percent of the day’s total.

Block trades, meaning high-volume securities transactions that are privately negotiated and executed outside the open market, accounted for 3.4 percent of the daily turnover.

Linde Bangladesh Limited was the most traded share, registering a turnover of Tk 32.1 crore.

In its daily market update, BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage said all large-cap sectors posted negative performances while engineering experienced the highest loss of 2.30 percent.

Fuel and power recorded a loss of 2.19 percent followed by the food and allied, non-bank financial institution (NBFI) and banking sectors with losses of 1.26 percent, 0.99 percent and 0.62 percent respectively.

The pharmaceuticals sector logged a loss of 0.50 percent while it was 0.24 percent for telecom.

Paper and printing, travel and leisure, and life insurance were the top three sectors that closed in negative territory, according to the daily market update by UCB Stock Brokerage.

Of the issues traded at the country’s premier bourse, 64 scrips saw their prices advance while those of 289 ended lower and 44 did not see any fluctuation.

Shares of BRAC Bank, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, ACME Laboratories, Renata, Olympic Industries, MJL Bangladesh, Grameenphone, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, Confidence Cement and Libra Infusions drew the most investors, according to LankaBangla Financial Portal.

But none of the companies saw a double-digit growth in share prices. BRAC Bank logged a gain of 2.18 percent, which was the highest among these companies.

Meanwhile, shares of BAT Bangladesh, Square Pharmaceuticals, United Commercial Bank, IFIC Bank, Delta Life Insurance, Orion Pharmaceuticals, Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Spa, Orion Infusion, Robi Axiata and Unique Hotel and Resorts showcased tame performances.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange saw a similar trend as the Caspi, the all-share price index of the port city bourse, decreased by 0.86 percent from the previous day to settle at about 16,238 points.