The stock market ended slightly lower on Wednesday, after a single-day break, as investors followed a cautious stance amid a global fuel price hike and possible impact on the country’s economy.
The market opened on a positive note and the key index rose about 28 points within the first hour of trading. But the rest of the session went down steadily, eventually closing over 6.0 points lower.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 6.08 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at 6,366, after gaining over 25 points the previous day.
Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, also dropped to Tk 7.46 billion, which was 22 per cent lower than the previous day’s tally of Tk 9.61 billion.
The stock investors followed a cautious mood due to the energy crisis and power cuts have become frequent across the country, including in Dhaka, over the last few days, market insiders said.
If the situation is prolonged, it will impact the company’s production badly, they said.
Besides, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) declared a relatively contractionary monetary policy and investors have continued their cautious stance amidst ongoing macroeconomic headwinds.
The central bank increased the repo rate by 50 basis points which may adversely impact the money flow to the capital market, said a leading broker.
Two other indices also dropped marginally. The DS30 Index, which consists of the blue-chip companies, fell 2.05 points to close at 2,299 and the DSES Index, which represents Shariah-based companies, saw a fractional loss of 0.05 point to finish at 1,389.
Losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 382 issues traded, 210 declined, 118 advanced and 54 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco was the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 555 million changing hands, closely followed by Delta Life Insurance (Tk 552 million), Fortune Shoes (Tk 405 million), Genex Infosys (Tk 318 million) and Intraco Refueling Station (Tk 296 million).
Delta Life Insurance was the top gainer, posting a 9.64 per cent gain while Zeal Bangla Sugar Mills was the day’s worst loser, losing 1.99 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also edged lower with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI –losing 20 points to settle at 18,749 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX –shedding 12 points to close at 11,237.
Of the issues traded, 172 declined, 87 advanced and 43 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city’s bourse traded 8.28 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value worth nearly Tk 266 million.