DSE general index sees biggest single-day drop in four years

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FE Report
Dhaka stocks continued to tumble Thursday, recording the biggest single-day fall in four years, as a lower economic growth projection by the World Bank (WB) the previous day was just added to a dozen of other negative factors impacting on the market.
The benchmark DSE General Index (DGEN) shed 100.38 points or four per cent, the biggest single-day drop since January 11, 2005, to close at 2459.48, sinking below the 2500-mark after 15 months.
The market witnessed panic sell-off Thursday as the WB said the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) might come down to 4.8 per cent in the current fiscal year from the government-projected 6.5 per cent, pushing the market into the red, analysts and market operators said.
Law-enforcers were deployed in front of the DSE building in the city to tackle any untoward incident following the market fall.
The prime bourse failed to fill up its designated top ten-gainer box as it only saw five gainers on the day, which was a rare case in the bourse's history.
Two other market barometers-All Shares Price Index (DSI) and DSE-20 - fell 81.77 points and 73.27 points to end at 2035.42 and 2100.90 respectively.
"The unnecessary panic selling by the individual investors pulled the market down," said M Fazlur Rahman, head of the investment banking division of AB Bank Limited.
The WB projection of the country's slower economic growth for the current financial year added to the worries of the investors, who were already shaken by a dozen of other negative factors.
Rahman categorically rejected the WB projection, apparently supporting the Finance Adviser's comment that termed the projection of the bank 'gross underestimation.'
"Our macroeconomic indicators are quite healthy despite the global meltdown, signalling that the market will be back on track," he hoped.
A stockbroker, requesting not to be named, said, "Capitalising on the WB report, a group of investors have spread panic among the innocent investors who dumped their holdings on the day."
"Please, have patience under the prevailing circumstances and don't be panicky," said Faruq Ahmad Siddiqi, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), when a group of aggrieved investors met with him in the afternoon.
He also blamed the WB report for the panic selling.
Of the total 238 issues traded, only five advanced, 231 declined and two remained unchanged on the day.
The day's total turnover, however, increased to Tk 2.61 billion from the previous day's Tk 1.80 billion while the market capitalisation declined to Tk 947.95 billion from Tk 976.24 billion.
Shinepukur Ceramics Limited topped the list of turnover leaders with shares worth Tk 315.27 million traded.
Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Uttara Bank, Titas Gas, Beximco Limited, ACI Limited, Square Pharma, GrameenS2, BRAC Bank and AB Bank were the rest of the top 10 turnover leaders.
The day's only gainers were Shinepukur Ceramics Limited, Kohinoor Chemicals, Amam Sea Food, Renwick Jajneswar and Northern General Insurance. Three of five gainers were from the worst performing Z-category.