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The daily trade turnover on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dropped below the Tk 5 billion-mark after six weeks on Sunday, as the majority of investors remained cautious to put fresh bets on stocks.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 4.81 billion on the country’s premier bourse, slumping further by 9 per cent over the previous day’s mark of Tk 5.31 billion.
Market operators said participation of investors remained low, triggered by abrupt regulatory measures as part of the ongoing reform initiatives.
The stock exchange downgraded 28 low-profile companies to the ‘Z’ category for non-compliance with the securities laws while investor sentiment was also affected by potential interest rate hikes after the Bangladesh Bank raised the policy rate further.
Following the previous day’s sharp fall, the market opened higher and the key index soared almost 60 points within the first hour of trading. However, the rest of the session eroded most of the early gains.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), finally went up nearly 19 points or 0.33 per cent to 5,658, after losing 97 points the previous day.
The DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, also gained 9 points to 1,271. However, the blue-chip DS30 index, a group of 30 prominent companies, shed 2 points to 2,063.
The losers, however, took a strong lead over the gainers, as out of 397 issues traded, 205 declined, 153 advanced and 39 issues remained unchanged.
Grameenphone became the most-traded, with shares worth Tk 328 million changing hands, closely followed by Islami Bank, Brac bank, MJL Bangladesh and SIBL
Khan Brothers was the top gainer with a rise of 9.63 per cent, while Kattali Textiles was the top loser, shedding 16.54 per cent, following its ‘poor’ corporate declarations for three financial years at a time.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), however, edged lower with its All Share Price Index (CASPI) shedding 28 points to settle at 15,766 while the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) lost 4 points to 9,567.