Stocks fall sharply as regulatory decision enervates investors

Dhaka Stocks fell sharply on Monday, extending the losing streak for the third consecutive trading session, as investors reacted negatively to the stock regulator’s recent restriction on purchasing stocks before cheque encashment.

The poor earnings disclosures of some companies also added fuel to weaken investors’ sentiments that influenced them to offload parts of their holdings.

The DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), plummeted 65.4 points or 1.01 per cent to settle at 6,413 points against 6,478 points in the previous trading session.

Among other indices, the DSES, the Shariah-based index, fell 11.39 points or 0.8 per cent to 1,406, and the DS30, the blue-chip index, dropped 21.43 points or 0.93 per cent to 2,277.

Turnover, another crucial market indicator, declined by 3.4 per cent to Tk 1297.8 crore versus the tally of Tk 1343.1 crore in the previous session.

The market started with a positive vibe but turned negative following massive sale pressure, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

The market was concentrated on a handful of stocks only while some gloomy factors relevant to the market played a significant role as a catalyst to generate selling pressure across the bourse, it commented.

Moreover, investors remained watchful due to their concerns regarding the market outlook, triggered by the current macroeconomic headwinds, EBL Securities stated.

On the sectoral front, engineering topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 18 per cent to the total turnover, followed by the pharma and chemical (16 per cent) and miscellaneous (11.2 per cent) sectors.

All the sectors displayed dismal performance on the Dhaka bourse.

Of them, the travel sector suffered the most with a loss of 5.6 per cent, followed by services (3.6 per cent) and IT (3.0 per cent).

Out of the 387 issues traded, 27 stocks advanced, 152 scrips declined, and 208 issues did not see any price movement.

The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also settled lower with its two major indices — the CSCX and the CASPI — declining by 98.7 points and 164.4 points respectively.