Pharma stocks drag Dhaka market down

A decline in pharmaceuticals stocks dragged down key indices in the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Sunday, taking the market to a losing streak after a brief rise on Thursday.

Shares of three pharmaceutical stocks — Beacon, Beximco and Orion — which were dominating the market for the last few weeks pulled the indexes down on Sunday.

DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka bourse, fell nearly 49 points, or 0.74 percent to 6,515. Shariah-based DSES index dropped over 15 points or 1.09 percent and blue-chip DS30 slumped 35 points or over 1.5 percent.

Orion Pharma lost 9.69 percent, the highest on DSE on the day. The other two pharma stocks — Beacon and Beximco dropped 6.23 percent and 5.25 percent respectively. These three stocks ate up over 29 points from the DSEX.

Overall nearly two-thirds of the 30 pharmaceuticals and chemicals stocks lost, while only two companies gained.

Shares of ICB and two hotels — Sea Pearl and Unique Hotels and Resorts contributed the highest to the index.