The benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange on Sunday fell by 11 points in a topsy-turvy trading as panic-stricken investors continued to sell off their stocks and institutional investors remained cautious in making further investment, market operators said.
Out of 244 issues traded on the day, share prices of only 46 issues, mainly those of banks, advanced, while 196 issues declined sharply, and two remained unchanged.
The DSE general index closed at 8,096.14 points, down by 11 points, or 0.15 per cent from that of the previous trading day.
‘Bank issues saved the general index from suffering a massive fall on the day as the prices of most of the other issues declined sharply. Investors continued to sell shares of issues other than those of banks driven by the fear that the market might fall heavily any time and their losses would mount,’ said a stockbroker.
He said the index had a bumpy ride throughout the day, swinging between positive and negative zones time and again.
Many of the small investors, who had suffered heavy losses from the record fall on December 19, have sold their entire portfolio over the past two to three trading days in a bid to avoid any further loss and get out of the market, he said.
‘Large institutional investors, on the other hand, have adopted a wait-and-see policy and reduced share trading before the year-end book closing,’ he added.
The market fell by a record 551 points on December 19 following some stringent measures of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bangladesh Bank on margin loan, member margin ratio, and industrial credit invested in the securities market.
Although the market gained in December 20-21, the trading remained choppy in the past three trading days as investors were still gripped by a panic.
Share prices of almost all the issues of other major sectors like insurance, fuel and energy, non-banking financial institutes, textiles, engineering and telecommunications, and mutual funds slid on the day.
Of the 42 insurance company scrip traded on the day, 40 declined and only two advanced, 20 out of the 21 NBFI issues dropped heavily, while 10 out of 11 fuel and
power issues declined on Sunday.
The prices of 20 of the 22 textile company issues declined, with just two remaining unchanged.
Prices of 19 out of 21 engineering issues dropped and 29 out of 31 mutual funds declined. Even the heavyweight issue, Grameenphone, suffered a drop in its price by Tk 13 on the day.
Out of the 30 listed banks, share prices of 28 advanced, one declined, and one remained unchanged. National Bank topped the list of the day’s turnover leaders, with its share price rising by 8 per cent and Islami Bank topped the gainers’ list as its share advanced by 9 per cent.
Faruk Ahmed, a client of Shakil Rizvi Securities, said he sold most of his shares, despite counting a loss. ‘Most of investors went for selling on the day as they feared that the market could fall further,’ he said.
Shakil Rizvi, president of the DSE, said small investors were leaving market for the time being as the continuous fall had made them worried.
‘In our market, investors come in large numbers when it gains but leave when it falls. The situation should have been reverse,’ he said.
‘Banks and other institutional investors are cautious about making further investments. They have taken a wait-and-see stance as they are not sure about the market trends,’ said Akter H Sannamat, managing director of Prime Finance and Investment.
The movement of the general index remained volatile as most of the investors went for selling to avoid further losses, he added.
