Stocks end week lower at DSE, CSE

After two straight sessions of gains, stocks closed the week lower on Thursday at both the Dhaka and Chattogram bourses, with key indices, prices and turnover declining.

The benchmark DSEX index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) shed 17 points, while the Shariah-based DSES was down 3 points and the blue-chip DS30 index lost 13 points at the close of trading.

Out of 392 issues traded on the DSE, prices advanced for 175, declined for 145 and remained unchanged for 72.

Despite the overall fall in indices, most stocks in the A, B and Z categories ended higher. Among the 216 A-category issues, the group with the strongest dividend record, 99 gained, 89 fell and 28 closed flat.

The DSE's block market saw trades of Tk 330 million in shares of 33 companies, led by Orion Infusion with Tk 220 million in transactions.

The turnover at the DSE stood at Tk 13.38 billion, down from Tk 13.97 billion in the previous session.

Rupali Life Insurance was the day's top gainer, soaring more than 9 per cent, while HR Textile was the worst performer, dropping over 8 per cent.

The downbeat trend extended to the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), where the overall index lost 29 points.

Of the 238 issues traded, 108 advanced, 108 declined and 22 remained unchanged.

The turnover at the port city bourse fell sharply to Tk 120 million, compared with Tk 210 million a day earlier.

Standard Ceramic Industries gained over 9 per cent to top the CSE's chart, while Bangladesh National Insurance plunged more than 10 per cent to end at the bottom.