Stocks flat on second day after polls

Following a rally on the day after national polls, equity indices at the Dhaka bourse closed mixed on Tuesday as investor confidence seemed to have taken a backseat after the US State Department's unfavourable response about the election.

DSEX, the broad-based index at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), slipped nearly two points to 6,269, and blue-chip DS30 inched down 0.3 points to 2,102 on Tuesday. On the other hand, the Shariah index DSES moved up 0.4 points to 1,367 compared to the previous trading session.

The market observed flat momentum until mid-session as investors remained active on both sides of the trading fence, according to the daily market commentary by EBL Securities.

"But sellers ended up on a slightly dominant side by the end of the session as cautious investors preferred to take a wait-and-see approach considering the prevailing concerns regarding the market's momentum." the review reads.

Investor participation slightly increased as the DSE turnover grew by 12.3% to Tk495.4 crore on Tuesday.

Engineering stocks contributed the highest 13.2% to the day's turnover, followed by bank stocks adding 11%, and life insurance adding 9.3%.

The sectors displayed mixed returns with life insurance and miscellaneous stocks gaining 0.4% and 0.3% respectively. On the other hand, general insurance and mutual funds witnessed the highest corrections of 1.6% and 1% in that order.

Bangladesh (BD) Thai Aluminium was the most traded stock at the DSE on Tuesday, Khulna Printing the top gainer with a 9.8% gain, and IFIL Islamic Mutual Fund-1 the top loser with a 6.7% loss.

On the day, only 53 scrips advanced, 110 declined, and 183 stayed the same on the DSE trading floor.