Market inches down after four green sessions

Stock indices in the Dhaka Stock exchange and the Chittagong Stock Exchange cooled down on Monday as investors' profit-booking selling pressure in the late session reversed the early momentum of the market.

The equity indices settled in a red trajectory at the end, following four consecutive green sessions.

DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 12.49 points or 0.17% to close at 7,051, after gaining 138 points in the past four consecutive sessions.

The recent surge in prices of most of the stocks has incited investors to engage in selling some of their shares to book profits. On the other hand, bargain hunters showed buying appetite in selective issues ahead of the December-end earnings declarations.

Also, some delayed reactions to the recently disclosed financial performance of listed firms have been observed in the bourses.

However, investors' participation increased on Monday and the daily turnover at the DSE increased by 6.9% to Tk1,428 crore.

On the sectoral front, the miscellaneous, pharmaceuticals and general insurance sectors made the largest contribution to the daily turnover at the country's premier bourse.

The service sector gained 2.9% market capitalisation, while general insurance and travel sectors followed through.

The food, paper and ceramic sectors were the biggest losers of the day.

Unlike Sunday, most of the rallying large-cap stocks suffered from profit booking and the factor did not help the indices stand firm up to the end of the session.

Out of the 385 issues traded, 133 advanced, 192 declined, and 60 remained unchanged on the DSE.

In the Chittagong Stock Exchange indices inched down with daily turnover dropping to Tk42.3 crore from Tk53.4 crore.