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Stocks plummeted on Wednesday after two-day short-lived, as panic-driven investors dumped their holdings amid growing tension over macroeconomic cues.
The market saw a sharp decline at the opening and tried to recover after one hour but heavy sale pressure sent the index in the deep red zone, plunging below the 6,100-mark further.
Finally, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), slid 74.24 points or 1.21 per cent to settle at 6,038, the lowest in 13 months since June 16, 2021.
DSEX recovered about 60 points in the past two days. Before that, the core index shed 315 points in nine days after Eid vacation.
Market insiders said the panic-stricken investors sold their shares as various media reports warned about the upcoming risk to the country’s economy.
The investors are suffering from a confidence crisis as they find no positive market trigger, said a leading broker.
The securities regulator is trying to boost investors’ confidence and some institutional investors were active in the market the past two days, but failed to sustain the momentum amid various media reports about the country’s economy, he said.
Besides, the local currency taka hit an all-time high of Tk 112 each in the kerb (open) market Tuesday which also hits investors’ sentiment, he said.
Two other indices also slumped. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, plunged 27.17 points to finish at 2,162 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 14.13 points to close at 1,319.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, also dropped to Tk 7.78 billion, which was 7.16 per cent lower than the previous day’s tally of Tk 8.38 billion.
All the sectors faced heavy sales pressure, leading to the share price erosion of about 89 per cent stocks. Out of 380 issues traded, 338 declined, 17 advanced and 25 issues remained unchanged on the DSE.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also plummeted with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI –shedding 175 points to settle at 17,797 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX –plunging 104 points to close at 10,662.
Of the issues traded, 229 declined, 26 advanced and 21 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city’s bourse traded 6.71 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value worth Tk 134 million.