Stocks end flat after early gains

With the tune of previous session’s rally, the market started on positive note in the morning, but modest profit booking chipped away some gains. The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index DSEX rose 9 points or 0.3% to settle at 4,846. The blue chip DS30 index edged 1 point up to 1,785 and the DSE Shariah Index DSES witnessed a fractional rise of 0.6 points to 1,152. The Chittagong Stock Exchange selective category index, CSCX, was up over 10 points to 9,067. The trade volume decreased as the DSE turnover stood at Tk795 crore, marginally down from the previous session’s Tk800 crore. Engineering sector continued to generate the highest volume of trade, accounting for Tk200 crore or 23.8% of the total trade value of the market. Textile and bank sectors contributed 13.6% and 10.6% respectively to the day’s total turnover. Food and Allied was the highest gainer of more than 1%, followed by banks 0.7% and non-banking financial institutions 0.6%. Telecommunications, IT and engineering sectors closed flat while power was the highest loser with only 0.4% fall.