DSEX crashes to 2-month low amid massive sell-off
The day’s trading reflected a complete dominance of the bears, with a staggering 355 issues declining compared to only 14 that managed to advance, while 18 remained unchanged.
The country's premier bourse, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), witnessed a massive bloodbath today (24 August) as the benchmark index crashed to a two-month low.
A pervasive bearish sentiment, fueled by a worsening nationwide gas and electricity crisis and global geopolitical tensions, left nearly 90% of all traded scrips in the red.
The benchmark DSEX index plummeted by 78 points, or 1.37%, to settle the session at 5,643—its lowest point in two months. The blue-chip DS30 index followed a similar trajectory, falling 14 points to settle at 2,130.
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The day's trading reflected a complete dominance of the bears. Of the 387 issues traded, a staggering 355 declined, while only 14 managed to advance and 18 remained unchanged.
Investor participation also cooled significantly, with daily turnover on the DSE falling 15% to Tk601 crore, the lowest in four months, as cautious investors stayed on the sidelines.
The sustained sell-off also eroded the market's overall valuation, with market capitalisation plunging Tk4,600 crore in a single day and pushing the total market value back below the psychological threshold of Tk7 lakh crore.
Market analysts from EBL Securities noted that the capital bourse faced heavy sell-offs as investors braced for a sharp downturn in corporate earnings. Prolonged shortages of industrial gas and electricity are expected to weigh on manufacturing firms' bottom lines, particularly as June-closing companies prepare to announce their annual earnings and dividends.
Sheltech Brokerage Limited observed that the market performance was primarily shaped by persistent selling pressure that began from the opening bell.
"Although several rebound attempts emerged during the session, they lacked sufficient conviction to develop into a meaningful recovery and were repeatedly overwhelmed by renewed selling pressure," the brokerage house stated in its daily review. It further added that selling pressure intensified in the late session, dragging the index to its intraday low.
On the sectoral front, the textile sector accounted for the highest share of turnover at 24.6%, followed by pharmaceuticals (11.7%) and general insurance (11.6%).
However, returns were universally negative across all segments. The textile sector saw a 3.3% decline in its sectoral index, while services and mutual funds shed 2.6% and 2.5%, respectively.
Among the few gainers, Meghna Condensed Milk led with a 4.16% rise, followed by Acme Pesticide and Aramit Cement. On the flip side, Fu-Wang Food was the top loser, shedding 9.91% of its value, followed by ML Dyeing, Sharp Industries, and Tung Hai Knitting.
The bearish trend was mirrored at the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), where the broad CASPI index plummeted by 173 points to settle at 15,255, and the CSCX fell 86 points to 9,309.
