Stocks limp on industrial fuel price hike

Dhaka stocks started the week on a gloomy note as worried investors continued to offload their holdings amid concerns over the dismal earnings forecasts of the listed companies owing to the recent hike in fuel prices for industrial and commercial sectors.

The government on Wednesday hiked retail gas prices by 14.5 per cent to 179 per cent which is scheduled to come into force in February.

This staggering increase blindsided industrialists across the country already grappling with a looming global recession.

The DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the premier bourse, fell 9.5 points to settle at 6,256 against 6,265 points in the previous trading session.

Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, lost 4.25 points or 0.19 per cent to close at 2,204, and the DSES, the Shariah-based index, dropped 7.06 points or 0.51 per cent to 1,360.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka bourse observed an increase in participation with the DSE turnover growing up by 17.3 per cent to Tk 692 crore against Tk 590 crore in the previous session.

The market witnessed a continuous tussle between buyers and sellers until mid-session, followed by an intense sell pressure from cautious investors who opted for portfolio rebalancing to shift towards specific stocks which they expect to be somewhat immune to earnings volatility caused by recent macroeconomic adversities, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

The general insurance sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 20.9 per cent to the total turnover of the DSE, followed by the IT (18.4 per cent), and the pharma (10.4 per cent).

Most of the sectors displayed dismal returns at the prime bourse, with the paper suffering the most with a loss of 2.1 per cent, followed by services (1.8 per cent), and ceramic (1.7 per cent).

On the other hand, the travel sector posted the highest gain of 5.1 per cent, followed by general insurance (3.3 per cent).

Out of the 391 issues traded, 53 securities advanced, 126 stocks declined, and 212 scrips did not see any price movement on the DSE trading floor. The port city bourse, CSE, also settled on red terrain, with its two major indices – the selected indices (CSCX), and the all-share price index (CASPI) – declining by 13.2 points and 21.9 points respectively.