Stocks nearly flat amid lower turnover

Equity indices at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) remained somewhat flat on Monday as investors were mostly active on both sides of the trading fence.

DSEX, the broad-based index of the DSE, slipped by a meagre 0.31 points and settled at 6,311. Shariah index DSES and blue-chip DS30 also saw marginal losses.

The daily turnover settled at Tk735 crore on Monday, 15.3% lower than the previous trading session. Of the total DSE scrips traded, 68 advanced, 84 declined, and 166 remained unchanged.

In its daily market commentary, EBL Securities said investors were active on both sides of the trading fence which is why the key index remained more or less flat.

Cautious investors continued to secure short-term gains from selective scrips, especially the hyped-up insurance stocks that consistently dominated the turnover board for the past two weeks, the review added.

On Monday, nine out of the top ten gainers were insurance stocks. Crystal Insurance topped the gainers' list with 9.98% price appreciation, followed by Republic Insurance that was the top gainer in the previous session.

On the other hand, Metro Spinning was the highest loser of price with a 9.79% correction.

On the sectoral front, general insurance contributed the highest 41.5% to the day's turnover, followed by life insurance adding 12.6%, and food adding 8.5%.

The sectors displayed mixed returns on Monday. General insurance, tannery, and life insurance posted 2.1%, 0.4%, and 0.3% gains in their respective market capitalisations. Travel, paper, and services fell by 1.1%, 1%, and 0.7% in that order.

At the Chittagong Stock Exchange, selected indices CSCX and all share price index Caspi advanced by 14.8 and 23.9 points respectively.