Indices fall for second consecutive day

DSEX, the key index of the capital bourse, witnessed a downtrend for the second consecutive day on Tuesday as investors went for profit booking, dragging the index down to 4,720.10 points with a reduction of 64.94 points at the end of the day's session.

Chittagong Stock Exchange, the port city's bourse, also registered a fall. The selected index, CSCX and CASPI decreased by 96.3 and 180.4 points respectively.

According to the review of EBL Securities, indices displayed volatility throughout the session as some opportunistic investors took positions in sector-specific stocks and some others were reshuffling their portfolios based on the latest quarterly earning disclosures and upcoming dividend declarations.

However, investors' participation remained active in the market following stock market regulatory moves to restore discipline by ensuring different laws to improve governance in the market which continued raising the level of investors' confidence and enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, the daily turnover at the DSE decreased by 25 percent to Tk1,052 crore.

However, investors' attention was mostly concentrated on pharmaceuticals that witnessed the highest turnover but shed 0.8 percent of its market capitalisation. The second highest turnover was in the general insurance which posted a loss of 1.3 percent.

Leading pharmaceutical companies –Square Pharma and Beximco Pharma – secured spots among the day's turnover leaders, with the latter continuing its promising growth.

Several mutual funds were among the top gainers of the day, being late entrants to the market rally witnessed over the last few weeks.

The miscellaneous sector surprised, gaining a massive 2.4 percent with the paint giant Berger rising strongly.

The non-banking financial institution sector witnessed a massive 3.92 percent fall in market capitalisation and was followed by cement and ceramic sectors.

Out of 356 issues traded at the DSE, 67 advanced, 268 declined and 21 remained unchanged.

At the CSE, 68 advanced, 187 declined and 27 issues were unchanged. The turnover at the port city bourse was of Tk28 crore.