The key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) retreated to losing territory this week as investors preferred to remain cautious ahead of the earnings declaration season for companies with fiscal years ending in June.
DSEX lost 75.77 points, or 1.31 per cent, and closed the week at 5,728.65 points. The blue-chip index, DS30, lost 10.35 points and stood at 2,114.36 points. The Shariah-based index, DSES, lost 12.45 points and stood at 1,228.81 points.
However, investors’ participation in the market inched up by 0.8 per cent to Tk 798 crore — compared to Tk 792 crore in the previous week.
Despite beginning the week on a positive note, the market soon experienced a selling spree as investors remained watchful of the market momentum amidst regulatory efforts to address recent market irregularities, which dragged down the benchmark index to settle in negative territory with bears regaining control after a week of modest gain, according to the weekly market review of EBL Securities.
The market, which performed five sessions this week, started positively on Sunday (0.43 per cent) but turned negative on Monday (0.44 per cent) and continued the trend throughout the week on Tuesday (0.30 per cent), Wednesday (0.82 per cent), and Thursday (0.18 per cent).
Most of the financial sectors registered negative performance this week.
Mutual Funds experienced the highest loss of 4.78 per cent, followed by General Insurance at 1.95 per cent, Bank at 1.10 per cent, NBFI at 0.25 per cent, and Life Insurance at 0.06 per cent.
The key index closed with a bearish nod this week followed by the price decrease in the majority of sectors. Investors were in wait-and-see mode throughout the trading session. Though, some optimistic investors cut back their investment to the stable stocks, opportunistic investors invested in some sector-specific issues for upcoming declaration, according to the weekly market review of Royal Capital.
Over the week, the price of 48 issues advanced and 325 issues declined. Fifteen sectors were losers last week with Ceramic, Jute & Paper in the top positions, whereas three sectors were gainers with Fuel & Power and Pharma in the top positions.
This week, the most popular scrip was BRACBNK based on price and turnover growth, while the top gainer was LINDEBD and the top loser was NEWLINE.
As the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission is working relentlessly to support the liquidity of the market, the investors who are in wait-and-see mode should engage themselves more by participating continuously in the market to take it to a new level.
All considered, the market may go somewhat bullish with moderate trading activities for the upcoming week.
In the previous week, DSEX gained 104.50 points, or 1.83 per cent, and closed the week at 5,804.42 points as investors were confident in the market's upward trend and chose to increase their stakes in stable stocks, leading the broad index to close in positive territory once more.
Investors’ participation in the market also increased by 26.9 per cent to Tk 792 crore from the previous week’s Tk 624 crore.
Thursday’s market scenario
On Thursday, DSEX declined by 10.4 points and settled at 5,729 points, down from the previous trading session’s 5,739 points.
Market volatility persisted throughout the session as sellers continued their dominance, while opportunistic investors preferred to observe the market’s trend and sit on cash to look for lucrative investment opportunities following the corrections.
Meanwhile, market turnover slightly increased by 13.7 per cent to Tk 670 crore from the previous session’s Tk 590 crore.
Only three out of 19 sectors were the gainers and 16 were on the losing side. Of the 398 scrips traded, 98 advanced, 250 declined and 47 remained unchanged at DSE.
Along with topping the turnover chart, LINDEBD was the top gainer while RUPALILIFE was the top loser. One stock was traded at the floor price.
In the block market, shares of Tk 22.4 crore were transacted, representing a turnover of 3.33 per cent.
The SME index, DSMEX, decreased by 11.75 points and the market generated a Tk 7.5 crore turnover, a 224 per cent increase from the previous session.
According to the Royal Capital Financial Portal, BRACBANK and SQURPHARMA contributed the most to the gains and the losses of the DSEX on the day and Bear ultimately won after a day-long fight with Bull.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also settled on red terrain on the last day of the week. The selected indices, CSCX, and All Share Price Index, CASPI, lost 32.8 and 59.5 points, respectively.
At CSE, 205 issues were traded. Of those, 54 closed higher and 126 closed lower when 2.864 million shares worth Tk 7.86 crore changed hands.
