Stocks plunge again after single-day break

web-DSE-File photo of Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited

File photo of Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune

The key index plunges 40 points

DSEX, the key index of premier bourse Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), failed to sustain the upward streak of the previous day and settled below 4,800 points on Wednesday.

The index witnessed price correction after gaining 110 points in the preceding session amid shaky investors’ confidence.

On Monday, Dhaka bourse saw an exceptional session on the day following news that the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) would support the market with Tk200 crore it took  from Sonali Bank to restore the investors’ confidence.

The investors did not find proper guidelines from Tuesday’s meeting of the DSE and DSE Brokers’ Association (DBA) with top 20 brokers to help revive the country’s ailing capital market.

The investors went for selling of shares from the beginning of the session in almost all the sectors which continued till the closure leading the key index to down by 40 points.

Meanwhile, market insiders said that the Grameenphone led the fall of index as investors remained cautious about the ongoing dispute over audit claim between GP and the telecom regulator.

The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX closed at 4,781.6 points on Wednesday after losing -0.83% during the session while CASPI declined -0.63% to close at 14,555.2 points.

DSE Shariah based index DSES declined -0.89% to end at 1,099.8 points, while blue-chip index, DS30 went down by -1.10% to close at 1,685.5 points.

Participation in the Dhaka Stock Exchange stood at Tk324.6 crore during the session, which was Tk328.1 crore in the previous session.

The prime index lost about 1,200 points or 20.8% from its highest hit of 5,950 points, since January 24 this year.

Talking to Dhaka Tribune, a top broker said that the investors’ confidence got a battering, which triggered sell-off again amid the depressed market outlook.

EBL Securities in its daily market commentary said that the risk averse investors went for selling of shares from the beginning of the session in almost all the sectors which continued till the closure. Despite slight improvement in liquidity scenario, poor governance in the financial sector continued to take a toll from the country’s stock market.

On Wednesday, the engineering sector contributed 18.7% of the total turnover while insurance, miscellaneous and pharmaceuticals sectors contributed 18%, 11.4% and 10% respectively, showed the daily market analysis of UCB Capital Management Limited.

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation secured the leadership position on the top turnover chart with a turnover of Tk21.4 crore with its share price closing at Tk52 per share. The stock was followed by National Tubes with Tk13.6 crore, Summit Power with Tk13 crore, Grameenphone with Tk9.7 crore and Standard Ceramic Industries with Tk8.9 crore.

Popular Life Insurance secured the highest gain of 8.6% during the session. The stock was followed by Shahjalal Islami Bank with 6.7%, GlaxoSmithKline with 5.6%, Asia Insurance with 5.5% and Paramount Insurance Company with 5%.

Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries turned out the worst loser with its price declining by -8.8%. The stock was followed by Al-Haj Textile Mills with -8.3%, RN Spinning Mills with -8.3%, Meghna Pet Industries Ltd with -7.8% and Bangladesh Industrial Fin Co Ltd with -7.4%.

Among the traded issues, 65 gained, 259 declined and 30 remained unchanged during the session in Dhaka Stock Exchange while 59 gained, 159 declined and 29 remained unchanged in Chittagong Stock Exchange.

The DSE currently has a market capitalization of Tk360,874 crore with the benchmark index, DSEX down by -11.22% since the beginning of this year.

Source: Dhaka Tribune.