DSEX drops 125 points amid market uncertainty
The indices of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) continued their downward trend for the second consecutive session on Sunday, as investors sold off shares to book profits amid a lack of leadership within the stock market regulator.
The benchmark index DSEX of the DSE decreased by 125 points to settle at 5,779. Meanwhile, the blue-chip index, DS30, fell by 53 points to reach 2,127, and the Shariah-compliant stock index DSES dropped by 25 points to 1,240.
As a result, turnover plunged by 51.9% to Tk480.89 crore, down from Tk999 crore in the previous session.
The DSE indices opened on a downward trend. After the first 10 minutes, the indices attempted to return to positive territory but failed to sustain momentum and closed the session with a sharp decline due to strong selling pressure. Most blue-chip stocks experienced a correction in today's session.
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Grameenphone, British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company, Walton Hi-Tech Industries, Square Pharmaceuticals, Robi, BRAC Bank, United Power Generation, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, Renata, and Unilever Consumer Care contributed to the decline.
Out of the 398 issues traded at the DSE, 18 advanced, 366 declined, and 14 remained unchanged.
In its daily market commentary, EBL Securities noted that the country's premier bourse faced a setback due to heavy sell pressure in major stocks, as cautious investors chose to liquidate their holdings amid concerns over a potential shift in market momentum and a lack of leadership within the stock market regulator.
According to the commentary, the market remained dominated by sellers throughout the session as investors sought to avoid further losses in their portfolios amid ongoing volatility and refrained from taking fresh positions in equities due to uncertainties about the market's trend.
The banking sector contributed 18.3% of the total turnover on the sectoral front, followed by pharmaceuticals at 15.1% and telecoms at 12.1%.
All sectors displayed poor returns, with telecoms (-3.0%), jute (-2.9%), and life insurance (-2.9%) experiencing the most significant corrections on the bourse yesterday.
The port city bourse, CSE, also ended in negative territory, with the selected indices (CSCX) and the All-Share Price Index (CASPI) losing 193.7 and 316.2 points, respectively.
