Stocks opened sharply lower on Tuesday with the key index of the major bourse dipping below 6600-mark, as jittery investors sold shares to prevent further losses.
Following the previous day’s modest correction, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down 47.86 points or 0.72 cent to 6,590, after the first hour of trading at 11:00 am.
Two other DSE indices also saw a downward trend till then with the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, losing 14.14 points to reach 2,437 and the Shariah Index (DSES) shed 7.90 points to stand at 1,446.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 1.85 billion at 11:00 am.
Market operators said the looming uncertainty over the global economy and the commodity market instability continued to hurt investors’ sentiment.
The investors preferred to hold onto their cash, fearing a further price hike of necessities amid the ongoing global economic turmoil and holy Ramadan, said a leading broker.
He noted that the recent rise of the call money rate indicates that the real economy is using much more money for paying bills due to the inflation which slowed down the funds flow to the capital market.
Of the issues traded till then, 280 declined, 40 advanced, and 39 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
IPDC Finance was the most traded stock till the filing of this report with shares worth Tk 80 million changing hands, closely followed by Beximco, BD Lamps, LafargeHolcim and Pharma Aids.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also opened lower with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—losing 89 points to stand at 19,406, while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX shed 53 points to reach 11,642 at 11:00 am.
Of the issues traded till then, 116 declined, 23 advanced, and 12 remained unchanged with Tk 32 million in turnover.