Stocks witnessed yet another big fall on Wednesday as the jittery investors continued to dump their holdings to avoid further erosion of their portfolios amid growing economic worries.
The worry of economic instability and uncertainties of the coming days due to the Russia-Ukraine war coupled with price hike of essentials and restrictive economic policies prompted investors to sell-off, market insiders said.
Following the previous five day’s major fall, the market opened on a positive for a while, then started to fall steadily, eventually ending over 93 points lower.
DSEX, the key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), slid 93.58 points or 1.46 per cent to settle at 6,309, lowest in more than 10 months since July 15, 2021. DSEX shed over 388 points in six straight sessions.
Two other indices also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 27.18 points to finish at 2,336 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) shed 17.26 points to close at 1,391.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, also fell further to Tk 7.62 billion, which was 2.18 per cent lower than the previous day’s tally of Tk 7.79 billion.
Market operators said some factors relating to the country’s macroeconomic matters might together hurt investors’ sentiment.
The stock market regulator took some market supportive measures, including increasing funds flow in the market, but failed to revive the market sentiment, they said.
The worry of economic instability and uncertainties of the coming days due to the Russia-Ukraine war generated apprehensions among stock investors, said a stockbroker.
Out of 381 issues traded, 310 declined, 42 advanced and 29 issues remained unchanged.
Beximco was the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 540 million changing hands, closely followed by Islami Bank, Shinepukur Ceramics, JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing and Salvo Chemical Industry.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) shedding 170 points to settle at 18,575 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) losing 101 points to close at 11,147.
Of the issues traded, 214 declined, 53 advanced and 27 issues remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port-city bourse traded 9.22 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 223 million.
