The benchmark index of Dhaka bourse tumbled to a three-month low on Wednesday, with most stocks ending in the red amid spike in Covid-19 infections.
The DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), lost 95 points at the end of the session amid panic sell-off.
With only 11 stocks ending in the green, the DSE turnover also saw a decline, as most investors remained on the sidelines.
The session opened on a negative note and the DSEX wiped out 73 points within an hour. The DSEX, however, showed timid recovery efforts during mid-session but failed to sustain it.
Finally, the DSEX settled at 5278.16 points, registering a decline of 1.76 per cent or 95 points, the highest single-day fall since February 9 last.
Two other DSE indices also saw a sharp fall. The Shariah-based index, DSES, dropped 1.38 per cent or 17 points to close at 1204.17 points while the DS30 index comprising blue chips settled 2.07 per cent or 42.22 points lower at 1994.40 points.
According to a market review of the International Leasing Securities, the risk-averse investors opted to offload their securities to avoid further losses.
"Stocks from all the sectors experienced notable selling pressure which intensified the loss of the DSEX," said the stockbroker.
Of 349 issues traded on the DSE, only 11 advanced, 258 declined and 80 remained unchanged on Wednesday.
At the end of the session, the premier bourse posted a turnover of Tk 5.60 billion, down 13 per cent from the previous session.
Of the total turnover, Tk 538 million came from the transactions executed in the block board.
According to a market review by EBL Securities, investors anticipated that the fast rise in Covid-19 infections would have an adverse impact on the economy and earnings of the listed companies.
"Investors' participation was dismal as most of them remained on the sidelines to observe the market movement," it said.
Of the major sectors that witnessed corrections, the banking sector declined 1.2 per cent, engineering 2.3 per cent, financial institutions 2.9 per cent, fuel & power 1.5 per cent, general insurance 2.9 per cent, pharmaceuticals & chemicals 1.2 per cent and telecommunications 2.8 per cent.
Investors' participation was concentrated mostly on the miscellaneous sector that grabbed 17.7 of the market turnover, followed by pharmaceuticals & chemicals sector (13.3 per cent), banking (11.6 per cent), and general insurance (11.3 per cent).
Beximco topped the scrip-wise turnover chart with a value of Tk 890 million, followed by Beximco Pharmaceuticals (Tk 346 million), Robi Axiata (Tk 302 million), LankaBangla Finance (Tk 243 million) and Square Pharmaceuticals (Tk 216 million).
Desh General Insurance Company was the top gainer, posting a rise of 50 per cent to close at Tk 22.50 each.
Meanwhile, all indices of the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) declined on Wednesday.
The benchmark index of CSE -- CASPI -- went down by 1.93 per cent or 301.64 points to close at 15264.61 points.
Of 229 issues traded on the CSE, 15 advanced, 169 declined and 45 remained unchanged.
The port city bourse posted a turnover of Tk 369.80 million on Wednesday.
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