Dhaka stocks plunge to lowest trade this year

Trading on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has plummeted to its lowest point of the year as turnover slipped well below 3 billion once again.

The premier bourse traded shares worth Tk 2.53 billion -- the lowest in the calendar year -- on Thursday, while key index points slipped 16 points to 4,785.

On Monday, the benchmark index, DSEX, slipped to 4,776, the lowest this year.

The lowest trading this year was previously recorded on May 17, at Tk 2.62 billion.

On Wednesday, the bourse posted Tk 3.26 billion in turnovers, breaking above Tk 3 billion after six days, since May 14.

On May 6, the DSE lost 150 points in a day, and though it recovered 119 points the following day, the downward spiral continued over the past two weeks.

Of the 391 listed companies, 113 rose in price, 200 dropped and 77 traded in previous prices.

Medicine and chemicals, food and allied, and engineering sectors contributed the highest to Thursday’s trade volume. Medicine and chemicals accounted for Tk 434 million, 17.44 percent of the turnovers.

Sonargaon Textiles, Bashundhara Paper Mills and Bengal Windsor Thermoplastics topped the gainers list while United Finance, Dulamia Cotton and IFIC First Mutual Fund languished among the losers.