Stocks fail to sustain positive momentum

Infographic: TBS

The premier index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSEX) extended its losing streak as cautious investors took profits by selling shares and reallocating funds into undervalued stocks with strong potential.

At the end of last week, the prime index, DSEX, decreased by 24 points to 5,202. Meanwhile, the blue-chip index, DS30, was down by 14 points to 1,888, the Shariah-compliant stocks index, DSES, decreased by 7 points to 1,158, and the DSE SME Index (DSMEX) was down by 16 points to 989.

While the weekly average turnover increased by 21.98% to Tk477 crore last week compared to the week before, with the total turnover at Tk2,384 crore, up from Tk1,955 crore, market capitalisation decreased by 0.60%, to Tk6,71,518 crore from Tk6,75,571 crore.

Of the 412 issues traded at DSE, 149 advanced, 207 declined, 38 remained unchanged, and 18 not traded.

Market insiders said investors are taking positions in promising stocks, hoping for good dividends, expected earnings, and opportunities in undervalued stocks.

Among individual stocks, Progressive Life Insurance led the weekly gainers with a 30.06% increase to Tk62.30, followed by Shinepukur Ceramics 26% to Tk25.20, DBH First Mutual Fund 23.08%, Prime Finance First Mutual Fund 22%, and AB Bank 1st Mutual fund 18.75%.

On the other hand, Alif Industries topped the losers' list, declining by 13.57% to Tk56.70, followed by Linde Bangladesh at 9.78% to Tk939.70, National Bank at 9.09% to Tk4, Zeal Bangla Sugar Mills at 8.99% to Tk86.10 and Robi Axiata at 7.47%.

In its weekly market commentary, EBL Securities noted that the benchmark index of the capital bourse failed to sustain its positive momentum as investors preferred to remain watchful due to the weakened strength of the market's brief uptrend in the previous week.

However, buying activity has been evident in particular beaten down scrips, while mutual funds also dominated the top gainers' list as investors sought quick gain opportunities in a volatile market. Nevertheless, most investors preferring to realise their recent gains and stay on the sidelines led the market to settle in negative territory, according to the market commentary.

The most actively traded sectors were Pharmaceuticals 13.3%, followed by Textiles 13.2% and Engineering 12.6%.

Sector performance was mixed, with the Mutual Fund sector gaining the most 5.1%, while the Cement sector recorded the biggest loss 2.3%.

At the end of last week, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also saw a losing streak in last week, with its selected index (CSCX) decreasing by 0.004% to settle at 8,851 points and the All Share Price Index (CASPI) decreased by 0.12% to settle at 14,559 points.  Its turnover stood at Tk28 crore.