Stocks bleed on steep selloff

Dhaka stocks suffered massive battering which left the benchmark DSEX index bleeding profusely on Tuesday taking the cue from the uncertainty of political and economic fronts, and the newly discovered omicron Covid variant.

The trading kicked off with the seep selloff that continued at close, pulling the index down nearly to 6,700-mark after three and a half months.

At the end of the day, the DSEX fell 1.4 per cent or 92 points to settle at 6,703, its lowest since August 12 this year when it was 6,699 and reversing from the previous session’s slightly up.

IT stocks dropped more than 3 per cent driven by Genex Infosys to lead losses as all sectors slid into negative territory. It was followed by the telecom sector dragged down by Grameenphone—the largest mobile phone operator in the country.

Negative sentiment started to weigh heavily on investor sentiments as many did not want to carry a heavy portfolio in the face of growing uncertainty on the political front, dealers said.

Fearing another blow to the economy, investors also looked for safer bets, they said adding that investors also feared the Omicron Covid variant could disrupt the economic rebound.  The Omicron variant brought back memories of last year when the Delta variant hit the economy.

Students protest demanding safer road is another negative factor that might accelerate the market fall, said a broker.  The death of a student in a tragic road accident sparked protests in Dhaka—the movement also brought back memories of the students protest that brought the country to a standstill in 2019.

The Shariah-based DSES index and the blue-chip DS30 index also recorded the steepest fall of almost 2 per cent each.

The market fell across the board as out of 371 issues traded, 65 advanced, 266 declined and 40 remained unchanged.

The most traded stock included One Bank, Beximco, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, IFIC Bank, Paramount Textile, Square Pharmaceuticals, and Orion Pharma.