Home ›› 18 Dec 2021 ›› Stock
The identification of the maiden Omicron cases in Bangladesh and contradictory stances of regulatory bodies have created panic in the capital market and held investors back from pouring fresh money in stocks in the past week.
As investors preferred profit-booking to parking fresh money in stocks, the benchmark DSEX index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) failed to retain the previous week’s gaining streak and plunged by 116 points or 1.7 per cent to 6,868 points.
The average DSE turnover declined by 12.1 per cent to Tk 933 crore last week while market capitalization fell 1 per cent to Tk 5.52 lakh crore, according to DSE weekly data.
Two other indices of the bourse also ended the week in red as Shariah DSES index and blue-chip comprising DS30 index lost 13.2 points and 45.7 points respectively comparing to the previous week.
The Dhaka bourse remained in red for three consecutive sessions and managed to rebound in the week’s last trading session following a positive statement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a meeting with BSEC, the specialized UN agency lauded the development of Bangladesh’s capital market as well as its economy and assured that IMF will continue its support.
“The trading week passed through an extent of confusion among the investors due to the absence of clear market direction amid the panic created by the news of two new cases of Omicron in Bangladesh,” said International Leasing Securities in its weekly market
review.
Besides, the ongoing tension between the Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) affected investors’ sentiment, it added.
Meanwhile, EBL Securities said the equity indices of the Dhaka bourse ended in red and participation declined during the week as investors preferred to hold cash or switch out of funds from capital market to invest in fixed income and other alternative investments.
However, low paid up shares witnessed movement this week following the regulatory instructions to 64 junk companies to increase their paid up capital up to Tk 30 crore by 2022.
The move came as a boon for junk companies but bane for good ones, analysts said.
In the past week, investors were mostly active in bank (16.7 per cent), pharmaceuticals and chemicals (11.7 per cent) and miscellaneous (9.9 per cent) sectors.
Most sectors witnessed positive performance out of which paper (11.0 per cent), tannery (10.0 per cent) and jute (3.1 per cent) witnessed highest return and textile (-3.3 per cent), ceramic (-2.8 per cent) and miscellaneous (-2.6 per cent) witnessed the most correction.
Eastern Lubricants turned out to be the top gainer of the week as its share price increased more than 21 per cent.
On the other hand, One Bank became the week’s top loser as it lost 21 per cent of its share price.
Fortune Shoes was the top index puller of the week as it contributed 6.4 per cent to the index. On the contrary, Beximco was the top index dragger.
At the port city bourse, CS30, CSCX and CASPI lost 252.4 points, 230.1 points and 387.1 points respectively.
Major Events
Phoenix Finance: The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has suspended Phoenix Finance and Investments Limited’s cash dividend payout six months after the company declared the dividend for its shareholders for the last year. The suspension came following the central bank’s findings that the company inflated profits in its latest annual report.
Saif Powertec: Saif Powertec Limited, an infrastructure-support service company, declared to invest Tk 548 crore in energy and ICT-related projects.
The company will invest Tk 473 crore in its Oil and Gas Operation unit and Tk 75 crore in 88 Innovations Engineering Ltd.
The energy unit is expected to generate Tk 516 crore in revenue and Tk 86 crore in net profit per year and its ICT unit to generate Tk 100 crore in revenue and Tk 24 in net profit per year.
Meghna: Meghna Pet Industries and Meghna Condensed Milk’s the two listed company of Meghna Group, came under regulatory scanner due to violation of securities rules.
New income fund: An open-ended fund called ‘EDGE High Quality Income Fund’ received approval from the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC). The initial size of the fund is Tk 25 crore approved by the commission, said BSEC in a statement on Tuesday.
