Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Stocks tumbled further on Sunday, with the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSEX) sinking to a three-month low, as jittery investors continued to offload shares to protect their funds from deeper losses.
Analysts said market sentiment remained subdued as investors stayed cautious amid volatility and the absence of any strong catalyst to revive momentum.
Concerns over possible political friction during the electoral transition and persistent vulnerabilities in the banking sector also made investors nervous ahead of the upcoming earnings season.
"Due to the continuous market decline, many margin accounts came under forced sale, which exacerbated the index plunge," said Md Sajedul Islam, managing director of Shyamol Equity Management.
He added that institutional investors largely remained on the sidelines due to a liquidity crunch, while small investors lacked confidence to inject fresh funds into the market.
Rising inflation in September further weighed on investor sentiment. Newly released data showed that point-to-point inflation edged up to 8.36 per cent in September, compared to 8.29 per cent in August.
However, expectations of a policy rate cut amid falling yields on government securities are raising hopes of a possible rebound ahead.
The yield on two-year government bonds dropped below 10 per cent to 9.44 per cent in the latest auction, signalling potential easing in the money market.
On Sunday, Dhaka stocks-particularly blue-chip securities-came under selling pressure from the very start of the trading session.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), eventually fell more than 81 points, or 1.54 per cent, to close at 5,202 - the lowest since July 22.
Over the past five sessions, the index has lost 245 points, while the market capitalization shed Tk 158 billion.
The price fall of selective blue-chip stocks such as BRAC Bank, Walton, City Bank, Beximco Pharma, and BAT Bangladesh dragged the index down sharply. These five stocks alone accounted for roughly one-fourth of the total index fall.
The DS30 Index, which tracks 30 leading companies, lost 35 points to close at 1,998, while the DSES Index, representing Shariah-based companies, dropped 19 points to 1,115.
Investors sold shares across all major sectors, including non-bank financial institutions, engineering, banking, food, power, and telecom, intensifying pressure on the indices.
"Sellers continued their dominance as investors remained cautious in the absence of a decisive catalyst for the market's recovery and sought to minimize further losses," said EBL Securities in its daily market review.
Turnover on the DSE remained muted, rising slightly by 2.3 per cent to Tk 5.43 billion from the previous session.
Investors were most active in the textile sector, which accounted for 12 per cent of Sunday's total turnover, followed by pharmaceuticals (10 per cent) and general insurance (9.8 per cent).
More than 78 per cent of traded securities saw price erosion, as out of 396 issues traded, 311 declined, 47 advanced, and 38 remained unchanged.
Low-cap companies dominated the turnover chart, with CVO Petrochemicals topping the list as the most-traded stock, with shares worth Tk 238 million changing hands. It was followed by Pragati Life Insurance, Pragati General Insurance, Simtex Industries, and Rupali Life Insurance.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also ended lower, with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) shedding 185 points to 14,762 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) losing 111 points to 9,076.
babulfexpress@gmail.com