DSEX falls below of 6,000-mark after fifteen months

The key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, fell by 2.4 per cent or 146 points, to settle below the psychological threshold of the 6,000 mark at 5,981 points this week after 13 months.

Adding to the current macroeconomic cues, the introduction of floor prices might reduce liquidity in the market as investors might find it difficult to prompt liquidation of their holdings due to the price limits.

Meanwhile, average turnover decreased by 14.38 per cent to Tk 634 crore. The textile sector dominated the turnover chart, covering 21.49 per cent of total turnover.

The decline was led by the financial, engineering, textile, and telecom sectors. The former came in for active selling on reports of the likely imposition of service charges followed by fears of slow growth, the latter on foreign selling.

Selling pressure was witnessed across the board, particularly on financials and textile-sector stocks.

“Economic uncertainty rattles investor confidence,” said a leading analyst at a brokerage firm.

He said investors were perturbed by economic numbers, including a high inflation rate and dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

EBL Securities said in the market commentary, the equity indices of the Dhaka Bourse tumbled on back to back sessions as investors’ sentiment is still negative across the bourse on the lack of confidence in the regulatory actions as well as the fear of recent macroeconomic headwinds, which took the market to settle below the psychological threshold of 6,000-mark”.

The equity indices of the Dhaka stock exchange continued to extend their downward trend again as the market suffered from dominant selling pressures, which prompted the regulator to hike the floor price of the listed securities, it said.

The DSE’s blue-chip index DS30 fell by 2.53 per cent and stood at 2,145.25 points. The Shariah-based index DSES fell by 2.7 per cent and stood at 1,308.20 points.

The market conducted five sessions during this week. The market started on a negative note  by (-1.21%) on Sunday. It moved to positive (+0.50%) on Monday. It remained positive (+0.48%) on Tuesday. It again turned back to negative (-1.21%) on Wednesday. Moreover, market ended on a negative note (-0.95%) on Thursday.

Besides, market capitalization at the Dhaka bourse has fallen 2.9 per cent in this week. As of Thursday, the DSE market value declined to Tk 4,92,113 crore from what it was on Sunday, Tk 4,98,439 crore.