Stocks break three-day winning streak

Stocks ended marginally lower on Sunday, snapping a three-day positive session, as investors mostly followed cautious stance amid persistent profit-booking tendency.

DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 20.63 points or 0.35 per cent to settle at 5,815, after gaining more than 34 points in the past three straight sessions.

Meanwhile, Beximco Pharmaceuticals share soared 5.14 per cent to close at Tk 208.4 following the news that Beximco Pharma is set to acquire 54.6 per cent stake in Sanofi Bangladesh for roughly Tk 4.0 billion, as it looks to expand its product base and diversify into new areas.

With this, the French pharmaceuticals giant will exit Bangladesh ending its presence in the country that spans more than six decades.

Beximco Pharma also dominated the day’s turnover chart with 12.52 million shares worth Tk 2.60 billion changing hands.

Debutant Energypac Power Generation was locked in upper limit circuit breaker at Tk 84.20 for the fourth day in a row, making it the top gainer as its share jumped 9.92 per cent further on Sunday.

Energypac Power’s share soared 171.6 per cent or Tk 53.20 in the past four trading days from its offer price of Tk 31 each since debut.

Market operators said the cautious investors continued on selling binge while some others were busy rebalancing portfolio ahead of year-end earnings and quarter-end corporate declarations.

Investors continued to maintain their cautious stance as the market is appearing to cool down from the heightened enthusiasm that was seen over last one and a half month, said a leading broker.

However, two other indices also edged up. The DSE 30 Index comprising blue chips advanced 1.74 points to finish at 2,210 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) gained 2.68 points to close at 1,297.

Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, rose to Tk 14.58 billion on the country’s premier bourse, rising by 20 per cent over the previous day’s mark of Tk 12.13 billion.

Losers took a strong lead over the gainers, as out of 359 issues traded, 202 declined, 79 advanced and 78 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also edged lower with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI –losing by 34 points to settle at 16,986 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX shedding 18 points to close at 10,253.

Of the issues traded, 145 declined, 67 advanced and 41 remained unchanged on the CSE.

The port city’s bourse traded 14.95 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 568 million.

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