Bourse deflated by news from Grameenphone, banking sector
February 26, 2020
Stocks continued to fall in the last consecutive four days on the back of Grameenphone’s share slide and growing fear of contracting earnings of banks.
Yesterday, DSEX, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), edged down 29.69 points, or 0.63 per cent, to stand at 5,621.19.
In the last four days the index plunged 137 points, or 2.87 per cent.
Market analysts pegged the drop to Grameenphone’s fortunes.
The country’s leading mobile operator’s stocks slid 8.4 per cent in the last two days after it was ordered by the Supreme Court on Monday to pay Tk 1,000 crore within three months. Grameenphone had deposited Tk 1,000 crore to the state coffer just the previous day.
The payments will eat into the operator’s reserves, meaning the Grameenphone board might decide to announce lower cash dividend come next year.
On the other hand, stock investors are also concerned about the profitability of the banking sector after the interest rate cap of 6 and 9 per cent for deposits and loans respectively, they said.
On Monday, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) formally asked lenders to set a maximum 9 per cent interest on all loan products save for credit cards from April 1.
“This development might put downward pressure on the profitability of most banks,” said UCB Capital in its daily stock market analysis.
The 6 per cent ceiling on interest rate for deposits might send savers to the stock market, said a merchant banker requesting anonymity.
“This could be a good thing for the market.”
Some of the investors though made a killing in the last as the index edged up 370 points in the previous seven days, the merchant banker added.
International Leasing Securities said in its daily market analysis that the massive sell pressure was observed in banking sector riding on the news of the BB’s notice to banks on Monday.
Apart from this, pharma, fuel and power, financial institutions and food sectors also observed selling spree.
Turnover, another important indicator of the stock market, rose 4.8 per cent yesterday to Tk 629.6 crore.
Brac Bank, which fell 7.7 per cent, was the most traded share with a turnover of Tk 20 crore, followed by VFS Thread, Indo-Bangla Pharmaceuticals, Grameenphone and Orion Infusion.
Among the major sectors, telecommunication fell 2 per cent, banks 1.5 per cent and pharmaceuticals down 0.4 per cent.
