Stocks witnessed yet another bearish session Tuesday, with prime index of the major bourse dipping below the 5,500-mark after more than nine months.
Market operators said investors’ confidence remains low to the market as persistent liquidity shortage coupled with uncertainty over the Dhaka bourse’s share sales to strategic partner continues.
Following the previous session’s negative, the market started the day on downward trend which continued till end of the session with no sign of reversal, finally the core index of the major bourse eroded more than 78 points lower.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 78.39 points or 1.41 per cent to settle at more than nine months low at 5,491. It was the lowest level of DSEX since June 19, 2017.
The two other indices of the premier bourse also saw sharp decline. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 18.60 points to finish at 2,056 and the DSES (Shariah) index plunged 16.42 points to settle at 1,303.
However, turnover increased as the total turnover on the major bourse amounting to Tk 3.11 billion, which was 39 per cent higher than the previous day’s turnover of Tk 2.24 billion.
The losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 333 issues traded, 282 closed lower, 37 ended higher and 14 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Grameenphone topped the day’s turnover chart with 705,150 million shares worth nearly Tk 330 changing hands, closely followed by Square Pharmaceuticals, Mercantile Bank, Salvo Chemical Industries and Aamra Networks.
Standard Insurance was also the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 7.74 per cent while Central Insurance was the day’s worst loser, losing 9.69 per cent.
Port city bourse CSE ended also lower with the CSE All Share Price Index–CASPI–slumping by 230 points to settle at 16,946 points and Selective Categories Index—CSCX–shedding 137 points to finish at 10,238.
Here too, the losers beat the gainers as 190 issues closed lower, 29 ended higher and 8 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 5.50 million shares and mutual fund units worth more than Tk 123 million in turnover.
