Dhaka stocks end flat as investors dump banks

FE Report

Dhaka Stocks ended flat Sunday after a heady start as investors dumped market heavyweights -- banks and Grameenphone -- for fast booming fuel and power shares.

The benchmark DSE General Index (DGEN) closed at 6107.81 with a slight fall of 0.01 per cent or 0.68 points despite gaining 50 points in the first five minutes of trading.

The broader All Shares Price Index (DSI) shed 0.09 per cent or 5.05 points to 5102.33. The DSE 20 index comprising blue chip shares ended at 3516.88 with a loss of 0.52 per cent or 17.93 points.

Shares worth Tk16.7 billion were traded, a three per cent increase from the previous session, as losers outnumbered gainers by 129 to 114. Market capitalisation held steady at Tk2.59 trillion.

"The market was flat because the investors have finally realised that the government's share splitting decision does not bring any changes to company fundamentals," said Reaz Islam, chief executive officer of LR Global asset management company.

The market went into a record-breaking spree and added more than five per cent in the past one month after the government's controversial decision allowed companies to multiply their shares by lowering face value to Tk 10 each.