DSE turnover hits 5-month low as stocks keep bleeding
The turnover value at the DSE also dropped by 30% to Tk306 crore, the lowest in the five months
Amid lower market participation, the relentless bearish trend on the country's premier bourse continued, with the benchmark index falling to its lowest point in over three years and turnover hitting a five-month low.
As nervy investors keep trimming their exposure to investments to avert further capital erosion, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), which made a single-day turnaround after a nine-day losing streak, once again slipped for the second straight session.
On Wednesday, the benchmark index DSEX dropped 50 points to close at 5,228, and the turnover value at the DSE declined by 30% to Tk306 crore.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Investors are selling off their holdings over the possible imposition of a 15% income tax on currently tax-free capital gains in the upcoming budget. In this situation, the DSE has requested that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) refrain from imposing additional taxes.
The DSE argues that any new tax would be a burden on capital investors, especially given the market's critical condition due to factors like the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the global economic crisis.
Among the traded scrips, 64 advanced, 286 declined, and 44 remained unchanged during the trading session. Alif Industries had the highest trading volume, followed by Beach Hatchery, Orion Pharma, Orion Infusion, Taufika Foods, and Lovello Ice- Cream.
Five mutual funds captured the top ten gainers on the DSE. Of these, Global Heavy Chemicals was the top gainer, followed by Capitec Grameen Bank Growth Fund, CAPM BDBL Mutual Fund 01, Sonargaon Textiles, CAPM IBBL Islamic Mutual Fund, and Vanguard AML Rupali Bank Balanced Fund.
On the other hand, CVO Petrochemical Refinery topped the DSE's list of losers, followed by Advent Pharma, Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries, Legacy Footwear, and Northern Islami Insurance Ltd.
EBL Securities wrote in its daily market commentary that the relentless bearish spell on the country's capital bourse continues amid lower market participation. This is due to the enduring pessimism pervading the trading floor, resulting from dampened investor confidence amidst an uncertain market outlook.
According to the commentary, the market remained dominated by sellers throughout the session owing to uncertainties leading up to the national budget declaration, allowing the bears to firm their control across the trading floor.
Nervy investors are shying away from taking positions in equities and continuing to trim their exposure to capital market investments to escape further losses, given the prolonged subdued market sentiment with no sign of revival yet, the brokerage house said in its commentary.
On the sectoral front, the textile sector, with 14.7% of issues, exerted the highest turnover, followed by the pharma sector with 14.0% and the bank sector with 12.5%.
Almost all sectors displayed dismal returns, with the ceramic sector declining by 2.4%, IT by 2.3%, and financial institutions by 2.2%. However, the mutual fund sector saw a marginal positive return of 0.9%, and the telecom sector exhibited a slight gain of 0.3%.
The port city bourse, CSE, also settled on red terrain. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) lost 95.4 and 155.8 points, respectively.
