Tuesday, May 07, 2024
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DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), dipped below the 6,000 mark on Wednesday, falling by 32.8 points to a 34-month low of 5,974 points due to the subdued sentiment as investors remained apprehensive over concerns regarding the market outlook.
Meanwhile, trading activities remained sluggish as market turnover decreased by 14.2 per cent to Tk 483 crore, from the previous session’s Tk 563 crore.
The last time DSEX was at this level was on May 25, 2021, when it stood at 5,884 points. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 7.27 points to finish at 2,056.57 at the end of trading on Wednesday, and the Shariah-based Index, DSES, dropped 9.08 points to close at 1,300.82.
The downbeat vibe in the country’s capital market extended further, with the benchmark index of the capital bourse falling to a nearly three-year low, owing to persistent selling pressure as risk-averse investors continue to trim their exposure to capital market investments due to dwindling confidence across the trading floor, EBL Securities said in its daily market review.
The relentless bearish spell has been prolonged for continuous sessions as wary investors continued their selling spree to protect their funds from the ailing market, it said.
However, a portion of investors opted to take positions in the beaten-down scrips in the latter half of Wednesday’s session, which they perceived to be at lucrative price levels.
BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage said in its daily review that most of the large-cap sectors posted negative performance on the day. Telecommunication experienced the highest loss of 1.03 per cent. Block trades contributed 2.3 per cent of the overall market turnover.
Taufika Foods and Lovelo Icecream Cream had the most traded shares, with a turnover of Tk 24 crore.
In its daily market update, UCB Stock Brokerage said that life insurance, non-bank financial institution and engineering sectors closed in positive territory, while paper and printing, services and IT sectors closed in negative territory.
Out of the 396 issues traded, 111 advanced, 220 declined, and 65 remained unchanged at the Dhaka bourse.
Meanwhile, the port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also fell sharply on Wednesday, with the All Share Price Index, CASPI, losing 157.82 points to settle at 17,105.45 and the Selective Categories Index, CSCX, shedding 94.69 points to close at 10,271.14.
Of the issues traded, 131 declined, 60 advanced and 26 remained unchanged at the end of trading. The port city bourse traded 43.18 lakh shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 11.73 crore.
Earlier, on Sunday morning, a technical error occurred on the DSE website at the beginning of trading, creating confusion among shareholders, and remained unsolved until the end of the day.
As a result, at the end of trading, DSEX showed a fall of 141.56 points to 5,971 points compared to the previous day, which was completely misleading information. Similarly, DSES rose 30 points to 1,304.99 points.
According to a related message, DSE authorities later tried to resolve the issue by holding an urgent meeting with Nasdaq. Also, a three-member inquiry committee, headed by AGM Sattique Ahmed Shah, was formed and asked to submit a report within three days.
DSE then requested all concerned, including investors, not to get panicked in this regard.
On Tuesday, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) formed a two-member committee to look into the causes of the major technical problem. The committee will complete the investigation and submit the report to the commission within three working days.
Earlier, on August 6, 2023, technical glitches in the capital market took around 12 hours to clear the transactions.
Currently, the Dhaka Stock Exchange and its trading technology provider Nasdaq Technology operate the DSE server.
The bourse had sold a 25 per cent stake to a Chinese consortium that includes the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges. The consortium offered its free trading technologies to the Dhaka bourse, but it seems barely interested in them.
