DSE turnover falls to one-year low

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) continued to witness lacklustre trade during the month of Ramadan with the turnover plunging to one-year low amid shortened trading hours and the key index sinking below the 6,700-mark after a month.

Stock trading turnover in the stock exchange tends to slow during Ramadan when most individual investors step back from the market, dealers say.

On Tuesday, the volume of trade by value stood at Tk 5,75 crore, which is the lowest since April 15, 2021, when it was Tk 556 crore and more than 7 per cent down over the previous session.

The key DSEX index was down 24 points or 0.36 per cent to close at 6,694—its lowest since March 21, 2022, extending its losing streak for the second straight session.

Its junior partners the Shariah-based DSES index edged 1 point or 0.08 per cent down at 1,460 while the blue-chip DS30 index shed 4 points or 0.16 per cent at 2,464.

The volume of trade by value stood at Tk 9,08 crore, which is the lowest since January 2, 2022, when it was Tk 894 crore and more than 20 per cent down over the previous session.

“Most retailers and some institutional investors remained inactive, weighing on stock prices and slowing down trading activity,” said a dealer at a top brokerage firm.

The capital market logged consecutive corrections while the equity indices dwindled to red terrain as investors engaged in selloffs to book profit, according to EBL Securities in a note.

Due to the limited trading window during Ramadan, trading activity has been slowed, and turnover has been at its lowest in the previous 11 months, it said.

Moreover, the liquidity crunch of the capital market might exacerbate further this month amid growing consumption in Ramadan and the upcoming spending spree centering Eid-ul-Fitr, it added.

On the sectoral front, financial institution (13 per cent) issues exerted the highest turnover followed by textile (11.5 per cent) and engineering (10.8 per cent) stocks.

Most of the sectors displayed dismal performance, out of which jute (-1.8 per cent), general insurance (-1.5 per cent), and paper (-1.5 per cent) exerted the most correction while cement (1.7 per cent), travel (0.5 per cent ), and life insurance (0.1 per cent ) sector exerted the most positive return on the bourse today.

Out of the 385 issues traded, 51 advanced, 286 declined, and 48 remained unchanged.

The port city bourse, CSE, also settled in red terrain. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) have declined by 32.3 points and 54.2 points respectively.