DSEX slumps to seven-week low

From the very beginning, the market started to slide steadily staying in a narrow band of range and the momentum continued till close of the session. The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, lost 10 points to 4,523. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, edged about 2 points lower to 1,734. The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, inched around 3 points down to 1,098. However, the Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX shed over 12 points to 8,463. Trading activities, however, improved as the DSE turnover stood at Tk531 crore, up more than 29% over previous session. Pharmaceuticals sector had the highest contribution of 19.6% to the turnover. All large cap sectors showed negative performance except banks that remained virtually unchanged. Engineering posted the highest loss of 0.77%, after showing a robust performance over the last few sessions. Pharmaceuticals, power, non-banking financial institutions, food & allied and telecommunications closed flat in red. Losers took a strong lead over gainers as out of total 323 companies traded, 74 ended up and 193 down while 56 remained unchanged. Beximco Pharmaceuticals, one of the leading drug makers in the country, was the most-traded share with a turnover worth Tk40 crore. It was followed by Shahjibazar Power Company Limited, Square Pharmaceuticals, DBH, National Tubes and Doreen Power. IFIC led the price gainer board with a 6.3% price rise while National Tubes led the price loser board with a 9.2% loss.