Stock Market Remains on Losing Streak
Collected Photo
The country’s stock market failed to break out of its downward spiral, as the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) closed sharply lower on Monday, the second trading day of the week, under continued selling pressure from investors.
Market analysts said persistent macroeconomic pressure and the inactivity of institutional investors have kept the market in a prolonged negative trend, causing not only a decline in indices but also a worrying drop in daily turnover.
The continued market slump has created deep frustration among general investors. With most companies facing a shortage of buyers for their shares, portfolio values continue to fall daily, increasing the margin loan risk for retail investors.
Market insiders believe the downward trend may persist unless regulators and institutional stakeholders take swift, effective and visible measures to ease the liquidity crisis and restore investor confidence.
At the close of trading, the DSE Broad Index fell 23 points to 5,203 points. The DSE Shariah Index dropped 5 points to 1,056 points, while the DSE-30 Index declined 2 points to 1,968 points.
Of the 392 companies and mutual funds traded throughout the day, share prices rose for 83, declined for 255 and remained unchanged for 54.
Turnover on the DSE stood at Tk 726.08 crore, down by Tk 142.15 crore from the previous trading session. The previous session recorded turnover of Tk 868.23 crore.
Meanwhile, the overall index of the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), CASPI, dropped 51 points to 14,623 points. A total of 223 companies participated in trading on the CSE. Among them, prices rose for 81 companies, fell for 111 and remained unchanged for 31. The CSE recorded share and unit transactions worth Tk 18.77 crore.
On the DSE, Continental Insurance Limited emerged as the top gainer, with its share price rising 7.92 percent. A total of 2.8 million shares changed hands in 2,022 trades, with a market value of Tk 9.65 crore.
National Polymer secured the second position among gainers, with its share price increasing 6.33 percent. The company traded 1.53 million shares in 1,768 transactions, valued at Tk 4.77 crore.
Eastern Lubricants ranked third, with its share price gaining 4.99 percent. A total of 63,283 shares were traded in 3,242 transactions, worth Tk 11.91 crore.
Other gainers included CAPM BDBL Mutual Fund, Islami Commercial Insurance, Sonargaon Textiles, Navana Pharma, Fu-Wang Ceramics, Union Insurance and Daffodil Computers.
Meanwhile, Meghna Insurance Limited topped the turnover chart with shares worth Tk 29.08 crore traded. Dominage Steel ranked second with turnover of Tk 17.04 crore.
BRAC Bank PLC secured the third position on the turnover list with shares worth Tk 16.72 crore traded.
Other companies among the top turnover leaders included Techno Drugs, RD Food, Asiatic Laboratories Limited, Kashem Industries, Eastern Lubricants, NCC Bank and Shinepukur Ceramics Limited.