During the three-day trade of this week, the index increased by 21 points on one day, but it decreased on the other two days. Investors had only one day of positive stock market in the last seven working days, as the index fell again on Tuesday.
Investors formed a human chain in front of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in Motijheel on Tuesday due to the continuous fall in the shares of listed companies.
At 12pm, a group of individual investors gathered in front of the DSE building with banners, and formed a human chain. Aggrieved investors chanted slogans demanding the resignation of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) chairman and DSE senior officials.
Protesters pointed out that at a time when other capital markets across the world are rising, such a continuous decline in the capital market of Bangladesh is suspicious.
Every year at this time, citing the continuous recession in the capital market, institutional investors take various facilities from the government in the proposed budget. Despite this, most of the time they remain passive.
For this reason, they demanded that the government look after the benefits of common investors in the upcoming budget.
In the human chain, protesters said, two collapses have already occurred in the capital market in 1996 and 2010. The collapse of the stock market in 2024 has surpassed the previous two Great Crashes.
Indices and trading statistics showed that the decline started mainly from April 15, 2024. The index fell by 85 points that day. After that the main index fell by 210 points in five consecutive working days till 21st April.
On April 22, the index increased by 21 points, but on April 23, the index again fell by 41 points. As a result, the main index of DSE fell by 251 points in seven working days, except for just one day.
During this period, the lowest transaction was Tk 368 crore, and the highest transaction was Tk 597 crore.
On Tuesday, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 0.73 per cent to 5,633.61.
Two other indices also ended sharply lower with the DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, plunged 3.48 points to finish at 1,980.43 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 7.36 points to close at 1,235.73.
Market Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, slightly increased by 3.9 per cent to Tk 597.56 crore, which was Tk 574.92 crore at the previous session of the week. Out of 396 issues traded, 310 declined, 50 advanced and 36 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
The downbeat capital market extended its free fall after a short-lived marginal recovery in the previous session as investors turned back to their selling mode since the regulator's meeting with capital market stakeholders failed to act as a major trigger to alleviate the enduring pessimism pervading the trading floor, stated EBL Securities in its daily market review.
The market observed a downbeat vibe as sellers dominated throughout the session, since cautious investors preferred to safeguard their funds from the ailing market and decided to remain watchful of the market momentum surrounding the ongoing corporate earnings disclosures, the review added.
Asiaticlab topped the turnover chart, followed by Lovello, Goldenson, Orioninfu and Besthldng. BDthaifood was the day's top gainer, posting 9.78 per cent gain, while OAL was the worst loser, losing 9.09 per cent.
On the sectoral front, Pharma 22.5 per cent issues exerted the highest turnover, followed by Food 16.6 per cent, and Engineering 11.6 per cent sectors.
All the sectors displayed dismal returns, out of which Ceramic 3.1 per cent, Paper 2.9 per cent and Life Insurance 2.7 per cent exerted the most corrections on the bourse Tuesday.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended sharply lower with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI – losing 34.71 points to settle at 16,154.11, and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX – shedding 18.12 points to close at 9,719.46.
Of the issues traded, 145 declined, 43 advanced and 27 issues remained unchanged on the CSE. The port city’s bourse traded 55.87 lakh shares, and mutual fund units with turnover value worth about Tk 15.70 crore.
