DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), lost 237 points in the last five trading days as cautious investors chose to liquidate their holdings due to concerns over a probable shift in market momentum and a lack of leadership in the stock market regulator.
On Sunday, DSEX lost 125 points and settled at 5,778 while the market turnover plunged by Tk 519 crore to end the session at Tk 481 crore.
The blue-chip index, DS30, and the Shariah-based index, DSES, closed at 2,126.61 and 1,240.19 points, respectively. All the large-cap sectors also posted negative performance on the day.
Market insiders said that the lack of leadership at the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has created uncertainty among investors.
Due to this, investors are taking some caution when making new investments. After the political change in the country on August 5, many of the investors who were active in the market took their profits and went back to the sidelines. Due to this, the sales pressure in the market increased, but there are fewer buyers, they said.
EBL Securities in its daily maker review said that DSE observed a setback led by heavy sell pressure in the major stocks as cautious investors chose to liquidate their holdings due to concerns over a probable shift in market momentum and a lack of leadership at BSEC.
The market remained sell-dominant throughout the session as investors opted to escape further losses in their portfolio amidst prevailing volatility and shied away from taking fresh positions in equities amidst uncertainties regarding the market’s trend, it said.
All 19 sectors were on the losing side. Of the 398 scrips traded, 18 advanced, 366 declined and 14 remained unchanged at DSE.
GP topped the turnover chart. DAFODILCOM was the top gainer while MPETROLEUM was the top loser.
Four stocks were traded at the floor price. In the block market, shares of Tk 19.7 crore were transacted, representing a turnover of 4.12 per cent.
The SME index, DSMEX, increased by 3.33 points and the market generated a Tk 5.5 crore turnover, a 62 per cent decrease from the previous session.
According to the Royal Capital Financial Portal, ISLAMIBANK and SQURPHARMA contributed the most to the gains and the losses of the DSEX and bearish conditions prevailed in the market from the start.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended sharply lower on Sunday with the CSE All Share Price Index, CASPI, losing 316.21 points to settle at 16,715.36 and the Selective Categories Index, CSCX, shedding 193.72 points to close at 10,065.37.
The port city bourse traded 2.345 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value worth about Tk 7.60 crore.
Of the issues traded, 200 declined, 15 advanced and 9 issues remained unchanged at CSE.
After the fall of Sheikh Hasina on August 5, the then-BSEC chairman Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul Islam resigned along with two other commissioners, Prof Rumana Islam and Shaikh Shamsuddin Ahmed, on August 10.
On August 13, the Financial Institutions Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance issued a circular appointing eminent economist and public policy expert Dr M Masrur Reaz as the BSEC chairman for the next four years, with immediate effect.
However, on Saturday, Masrur decided not to serve as the BSEC chairman after questions from various quarters on different issues arose about him.
Finally, the FID in a circular on Sunday said that banker Khondoker Rashed Maqsood was appointed as the BSEC chairman for the next four years.
