Home ›› 26 Oct 2021 ›› Front
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) took a heavy battering as the benchmark index recorded the largest single-day drop in nearly seven months, plunging to a two-month low.
The steep fall frustrated a group of retail investors who took to the street during the trading hours. The massive selling pressure from the institutional investors unnerved the retailers who adopted a ‘’dump-and-run” approach to exit the risky scripts, dealers said.
The benchmark DSEX index started tumbling from the moment trading began and fell below 7,000-mark as panic gripped investors over the rising communal tension and regulator’s launching investigation against share price manipulators, according to analysts.
At close, it settled at 6,885, shedding 120 points or 1.71 per cent, which is the lowest since August 26, 2021, when it was 6,851 and the largest single-day drop since April 4, 2021, when it fell 182 points.
The Shariah-based DSES index was down 22 points or 1.49 per cent to 1,465 while the blue-chip DS30 index declined 53 points or almost 2 per cent to 2,644.
The market fell across the board as the value of more than 80 per cent of shares declined. Out of 376 issues traded, 47 stocks closed higher, 307 declined and 22 remained unchanged.
“Investors were spooked by possibly communal tension and regulator’s move against manipulators,” said former DSE Brokers Association President Mostaque Ahmed Sadeque.
A rumour about the Quran being dishonoured at a Hindu place of worship in Cumilla has ignited a series of communal attacks across the country, resulting in the deaths of several people, according to reports.
The Bangladesh Securities Exchange Commission recently found the involvement of some people in artificially jacking up share prices.
Some investors opted for liquidating their position to escape further losses on their portfolios, according to stockbrokers.
The market has also been under pressure recently due to the rising inflation, taka depreciation, and falling remittance inflow said a dealer.
“There is nothing to worry about,” BSEC Commissioner Dr Shaikh Shamsuddin Ahmed told the Business Post.
“The market is going through correction,” he said advising the investors, including institutional, to behave rationally.
Volumes remained thin compared with the activity in recent times. The turnover stood at Tk 1,682 crore, hovering below Tk 2,000 crore since October 7.
Almost all the stocks, including jute, cement, travel and leisure, NBFI, and insurers received a beating with most of them touching their lower limits.
Olympic Industries was the worst loser hitting its lower limit circuit breaker, followed by Summit Power, Dragon Sweater and Spinning Limited, Islamic Finance and Investment, and Tung Hai Knitting and Dyeing.
Amid the depressed mood, some of the stocks were lucky, however. Shepherd Industries Limited was the top gainer hitting its upper limit circuit breaker, followed by CVO Petrochemical Refinery, Fu-Wang Ceramic Industries, Sonali Paper and Board Mills, and Fortune Shoes.
