Profit booking drags stocks down

Stocks declined as investors opted for profit booking on Wednesday following the recent rally in trading sessions. 

The market was in a correction phase throughout the entire trading session. The appetite to buy was not enough to offset the selling spree, especially for stocks that had gained sharply in the past one or two weeks.

Moreover, many investors were cautious on the trading board amid the rising trend of Omicron, the new coronavirus variant in the country, said EBL Securities in its daily market commentary. 

DSEX, the broad-based index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), was about to hit the 7,100 mark at the beginning of the session on Wednesday, but dropped 0.75% to close at 6,996. 

Blue-chip index DS30 also suffered the same degree of correction, while the Shariah index DSES, declined a slight 0.07% as the sell pressure in Shariah-compliant stocks was lower compared to the other indices. 

The overall participation of investors also declined at the DSE on Wednesday, and the turnover in the premier bourse declined 15.8% to Tk1,664 crore, compared to the previous session.

Most sectors – especially services, fuel and power, and paper – suffered the highest corrections on Wednesday. Only four sectors – textiles, telecommunications, tanneries, and ceramics – enjoyed price appreciation.

Of the 382 issues traded in the DSE, 88 advanced, 243 declined, and 51 remained unchanged. 

The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also settled in red terrain, and its broad index, CASPI, closed 0.8% lower, at 20,497.