Home ›› 19 Apr 2022 ›› Stock
Dhaka stocks on Monday went into a tailspin with financials and textiles taking the worst hit, amid worries over the bleak economic outlook, dealers say.
Dhaka Stock Exchange's (DSE) benchmark DSEX index plunged 72 points or 1.1 per cent to close at 6,482—the level not seen before March 8, 2022.
Like the previous session, the tone was set early in the day when the index dipped into the red only to continue falling until the close of the trade.
Its junior partners--the Shariah-based DSES index was down 13 points or 0.93 per cent at 1,428 while the blue-chip DS30 index declined 25 points or 1 per cent at 2,409.
Investors preferred to sit on the sidelines during the month of Ramadan amid shortened trading hours and a gloomy macroeconomic outlook, dealers say.
The current account deficit surged 82 per cent to over $18 billion in the July-January period of 2021, and inflationary impact amid weak local currency led to a bearish close, they said.
The volume of trade by value stood at Tk 3,90 crore, which is the lowest since April 4, 2021, and almost 1 per cent down over the previous session.
“Equity indices of the Dhaka bourse are in doldrums as bourses observed a substantial downfall led by decreased participation on the bourse as the temporary circuit breaker caused many equities to remain dearer at the current price level for investors,” said EBL Securities in a note.
The liquidity crunch of the capital market might exacerbate further amid growing consumption in Ramadan and the upcoming spending spree centering Eid-ul-Fitr. The prolonged pessimism kept investors inactive, as they lost their appetite for risk-taking in the negative market, it said.
The market draggers included Grameenphone, Walton Hi-Tech Industries, Beximco Ltd, British American Tobacco Company, Lafarge Holcim Bangladesh, ICB, United Power Grid Distribution Company Ltd and Beximco Pharmaceuticals.
Out of the 385 issues traded, 14 advanced, 347 declined, and 24 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 103.6 points and 172.0 points respectively.
