Stocks tumbled further on Thursday with the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange falling below the ‘psychological’ threshold of 6,000-mark after 15 months.
The market opened on a steep fall and the key index slumped 75 points after two hours of trading. However, the rest of the session recovered some losses, ultimately ending over 57 points lower.
DSEX, the prime index of DSE, went down by 57.49 points or 0.95 per cent to settle at 5,980.51, the lowest since June 7, 2021.
Two other indices also tumbled. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, shed 17.60 points to finish at 2,145 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 11.64 points to close at 1,308.
Turnover, the important indicator of the market, also fell sharply to Tk 4.42 billion, which was 43 per cent lower than the previous day’s tally of Tk 7.78 billion.
Market operators said the panic-stricken investors continued their sell-off as they feared the market might lose further amid weak macroeconomic cues.
All the sectors faced heavy sales pressure, leading to the share price erosion of about 88 per cent stocks. Out of 380 issues traded, 333 declined, 25 advanced and 22 issues remained unchanged on the DSE.
Beximco -- which lost 1.30 per cent -- was the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 356 million changing hands, followed by Sonali Paper & Board Mills (197 million), Fortune Shoes (Tk 163 million), Matin Spinning (123 million) and Intraco Refueling Staions (Tk 116 million).
United Insurance was the day’s top gainer, posting a 7.54 per cent gain while First Finance was the worst loser, losing 3.63 per cent following its no dividend declarations.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also tumbled with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI –shedding 204 points to settle at 17,597 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX –plunging 122 points to close at 10,542.
Of the issues traded, 240 declined, 17 advanced and 14 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city’s bourse traded 3.68 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value worth Tk 111 million.
