Stocks witnessed a sharp fall in the early trading on Monday as the risk-averse investors dumped their holdings amid growing macroeconomic tension.
Following the previous four days’ fall, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went down by 52.60 points or 0.83 per cent to stand at 6,251 after the first hour of trading at 11:00 am.
Two other DSE indices also saw a downward trend. The DS30 index, which consists of the blue-chip companies, dropped 17.95 points to 2,249 while the DSES Index, which represents Shariah-based companies, slumped 10.12 points to 1,366.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 2.29 billion after the first hour of trading riding on selling pressure.
Market insiders said investors have been anxious over the country’s macroeconomic cues.
The market outlook remains gloomy as investors are concerned about several macroeconomic issues such as energy crisis due to gas shortages, inflationary pressure and depreciating local currency, they said.
The ongoing bearish sentiment coupled with inflationary pressure created a confidence crisis among the investors,” said a merchant banker.
Meanwhile, the government bank borrowings nearly tripled in the past fiscal, partly being pushed by the need for financing the budget deficit which raises its debt liability.
Its aggregate net bank borrowings rose to Tk 727.49 billion as of June 30 last from Tk 242.92 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, according to Bangladesh Bank’s report.
The news of foreign-exchange reserves fell below $40 billion after two years, keeping them more nervous.
Of the issues traded till then, 297 declined, 46 advanced, and 33 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Delta Life Insurance was the most traded stock till the filing of this report with shares worth Tk 264 million changing hands, closely followed by Titas Gas, Beximco, Orion Infusion and Paramount Textile.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also opened sharply lower with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—losing 97 points to stand at 18,426 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX – fell 65 points to reach 11,034, also at 11:00 am.
Of the issues traded till then, 136 declined, 21 advanced and 19 remained unchanged with turnover of Tk 33 million.