Stock Market Drop Persists, Yet Insurance Sector Thrives
In the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on August 20, 2025, a bearish trend prevailed as the benchmark index, DSEX, dropped by 31.5 points, or 0.58%, to close at 5,379 points. The blue-chip index, DS30, also shed 18 points to close at 2,086.
Despite the overall negative trend, the insurance sector emerged as a beacon of resilience. General insurance and life insurance were the best-performing sectors, advancing by 4.6% and 2.9% respectively. Eastern Insurance and Central Insurance surged by 9.97% each. Notably, even in this challenging market environment, Green Delta Insurance and Reliance Insurance showed significant growth.
The IT sector also managed a modest gain of 2%. However, the textile sector slid by 1.9%, non-bank financial institutions fell by 1.8%, and travel and leisure declined by 1.8%.
The market turnover fell by 8.1% to Tk953 crore compared to the previous day. Pharmaceuticals accounted for 17.7% of the day's transactions. Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Beach Hatchery, Beximco Pharma, City Bank, and Techno Drugs were among the most actively traded scrips by value.
On the downside, both the CSCX and the CASPI at the Chittagong Stock Exchange settled in the negative territory. The CSCX declined by 50.3 points, while the CASPI fell by 75.8 points. Mithun Knitting and Desh Garments dropped by 5.85% and 5.47% respectively, and were among the day's biggest losers. Standard Ceramic tumbled by 7.45%, Jute Spinners fell by 6.66%, and Exim Bank shed 5.88%.
Brokerage firm EBL Securities identified insurance stocks as gainers in the market. They attributed the cautious stance of investors to reassessing the potential impact of the draft amendment to margin rules on overall market momentum.
In the midst of the day's trading, Information Service Network and Paramount Insurance reached the highest daily limit with gains of 10%. Out of 398 issues traded, 124 advanced, 223 declined, and 51 remained unchanged.
The market's trajectory remains uncertain, but the resilience shown by the insurance and IT sectors offers a glimmer of hope in these challenging times.
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