Stocks plunge over sale pressure
Investors booked quick profits by selling shares as most of the stock prices advanced in the last few weeks
Indices of the country's both stock exchanges plummeted on Monday as risk-averse investors started booking profits from major sectors.
On Monday, indices showed a declining trend from the beginning, which continued throughout the day.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 51.32 points or 1.02% to settle at 4,946.
However, turnover, an important indicator of the market, increased by 9% to Tk965.35 crore at the DSE.
Port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange's all share price index CASPI fell by 138 points to 14,146.
Market analysts said most of the stock prices advanced in the last few weeks. So, risk-averse investors booked quick profits by selling shares. That is why the market witnessed a downfall on investors' movement.
An official at one of the leading brokerage firms said new investment flow declined due to many investors' moving to the primary market as the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) approved a good number of initial public offerings within the last few weeks.
But the insurance sector's share prices kept jumping.
In the last one month, most of the insurance companies' share prices leaped without any particular reason.
In continuation of this, even on Monday, all companies on the top ten gainers list at the DSE were from the insurance sector. Northern Insurance was the top performer, with its share posting 9.96% gain to reach Tk34.20.
In this regard, officials at the securities regulator said the commission would investigate to find out the reason behind the unusual price hike of shares of the insurance sector.
Besides, on the top ten loser list, most of the companies were from the "Z" category. Tung Hai Knitting performed the worst. Its share price lost 9.75% to reach Tk3.70.
Out of 357 issues traded, 263 closed lower, 65 ended higher while 29 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Meanwhile, Walton Hi-Tech Industries topped the turnover list, with shares worth Tk50 crore changing hands. It secured the top position in daily turnover at the DSE for the first time after listing.
Its share price also rose by 7.50% to Tk940.40 at the end of Monday's trading session.