Stocks opened lower on Monday, with the key index of the prime bourse dipping below the 6200-mark, as the recent dismal earnings disclosures and looming economic uncertainties eroded investors' confidence.
Following the previous day’s fall, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 17.48 points or 0.28 per cent to 6,197, after the first hour of trading at 11:00 am.
Two other DSE indices saw a negative trend till then. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, lost 1.14 points to 2,179 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) shed 3.56 points to 1,345.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 1.41 billion after the first hour of trading.
Market insiders said, gloomy macroeconomic outlook and the poor financial performance of the listed companies have weakened investors’ confidence on the trading floor.
The investors opted to protect their funds from the ailing market in an effort to minimise losses, they said.
Most of the traded issues remained stuck at the ‘floor price’. Of the issues traded, 67 declined, 17 advanced and 135 issues remained unchanged on the DSE.
Genex Infosys was the most traded stock till the filing of this report with shares worth Tk 32 million changing hands.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also opened lower with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—losing 45 points to stand at 18,399 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX – shed 27 points to reach 11,024, also at 11:00 am.
Of the issues traded till then, 29 declined, 8 gained, and 31 remained unchanged with Tk 10.80 million.