The market fell at opening on Thursday as investors kept their selling spree, fearing further fall amid worries of regulatory intervention on the interest rate to fight inflation.
Following the previous day’s big fall, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 19.67 points or 0.29 per cent to stand at 6,572, after the first hour of trading at 11:00am.
Two other indices also saw negative trend till then with the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, losing 5.30 points to reach 2,415 and the Shariah Index (DSES) shed 2.10 points to stand at 1,431.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, amounted to Tk 2.08 billion after the first hour of trading at 11:00am.
Market insiders said the global situation and commodity market price instability made investors concerned about the macroeconomic situation of the country.
Interest rate issue, the recent hike in edible oil prices and Sri Lanka’s economic turmoil also hit investors’ sentiment, said a leading broker.
The investors feared that the central bank may increase the lending and deposit rates amid rising inflation, which may lead to liquidity shortage in the capital market, he said.
Of the issues traded till then, 219 declined, 85 advanced and 61 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor till then.
Shinepukur Ceramics was the most traded stock till then with shares worth Tk 218 million changing hands, closely followed by JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing, RD Food, ACI Formulations and Beximco.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also saw a downward trend till then with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—losing 48 points to stand at 19,280 the Selective Categories Index – CSCX shed 29 points to reach 11,569 at 11:00am.
Of the issues traded till then 101 declined, 38 advanced and 26 remained unchanged with Tk 80 million in turnover.
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