A group of small investors staging a protest at Motijheel in the city on Monday against the sharp fall in the main index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange — FE photo The key index of the major bourse slumped below the 'psychological' threshold of 5,000-mark on Monday as investors continued to dump their holdings to escape further loss.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, lost 67.30 points or 1.33 per cent to settle at 31 month-low to 4,966. On December 22, 2016, the index was 4,956.
The key index also plunged by 97 points on Sunday, the biggest single-day dip in 17 months.
Market analysts said the investors' confidence got a battering, which triggered panic sell-off, amid the depressed market outlook.
"Uncertainty and instability returned to the market as investors rushed to sell off shares in order to leave the market, which contributed to another major fall," said an analyst.
He noted that new investors are staying off market, while the investors who were selling shares are no returning either.
The recent sharp fall in index prompted the stock market regulator to form a committee on Sunday to detect the reasons for the recent 'unusual' market fall, but the news failed to placate investors.
The government's move to liquidate People's Leasing dented the investors' confidence as they feared some other companies in the financial sector might face the same fate due to their weak business performance, said a leading broker.
Growing concern over the GP's dispute with the telecom regulator along with lower earnings also disappointed the investors, it said.
The slide began when the news emerged that fiscal 2019-20's budget would be passed in parliament on June 30 without any significant incentive for stocks and the market hardly rebounded since then.
The government's supportive measures, including redefining the banks' capital market exposure to spur the market also failed to boost the fund flow.
The DSEX has lost a cumulative 455 points or 8.48 per cent in 15 trading sessions since parliament passed the budget.
And the DSEX shed 984 points or 16.53 per cent in the past six months since January 24, when the index was 5,950.
The market capitalisation also dropped to Tk 269 billion in 15 trading days while it shrank Tk 470 billion in the past six months, the DSE data shows.
After the market's free fall, a group of aggrieved investors staged demonstration again in front of the DSE building on Monday in protest against the inaction of the authorities.
The retail investors, under the banner of 'Bangladesh Pujibazar Biniogkari Oikya Parishad,' chanted various slogans, demanding immediate actions to help revive the market.
They also demanded immediate resignation of Chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) M Khairul Hossain for his failure to bring back the market normal.
The aggrieved investors alleged the capital market regulator has continuously failed to address manipulations and wrongdoings in the market, which made them frustrated.
Meanwhile, the aggrieved investors handed over a memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday, seeking the government intervention to revive the market.
The investors are not confident enough of injecting fresh funds into stocks amid a dismal market outlook, said Khairul Bashar Abu Taher Mohammed, secretary general of the Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA).
Mr Bashar, also CEO of the MTB Capital Ltd, said that institutional investors had maintained a cautious stance due to the fund shortage.
Turnover, an important indicator of the market, however, rose to Tk 4.64 billion, which was 26 per cent higher than the previous day's turnover of Tk 3.68 billion.
"The high trading activities despite sharp fall in index proves that panic-driven investors continued to dump their holdings to avoid further losses," noted UCB Capital.
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