DGEN sheds 194.40 points

FE Report Dhaka stocks witnessed another sharp fall Sunday and the DGEN fell more than three per cent, as frustrated investors sold off their shares fearing further fall of prices. Market insiders said the index plunged, as worried investors sold off their shares fearing further fall of share prices as the market is not stable despite market regulator and stakeholders took a series of positive measures. The market opened with a steep fall and the free fall continued throughout the session and finally closed 194 points lower. The benchmark General Index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DGEN, plummeted 194.40 points or 3.39 per cent to close at 5,533.39. The broader All Shares Price Index (DSI) plunged 161.82 points or 3.36 per cent to close at 4,642.34. The DSE-20 Index comprising blue-chip shares also shed 110.07 points or 2.77 per cent to close at 3862.73. Mr Yawer Sayeed, managing director and CEO of AIMS of Bangladesh, an asset management company, said, "Panic has gripped the investors and they are selling off their shares in speculation of further index fall, as all regulatory measures have virtually failed to bring back normalcy in the share market." Mr Sayeed said that the investors were suffering from lack of confidence following the ongoing liquidity crunch in the market and they wanted to come out of the market. However, a market insider said panic gripped the investors following media reports that the most influential market players, some of whom had allegedly played an active role behind the previous market crashes, took the charge of salvaging the market. "As the alleged persons again took charge to salvage the market, the investors have become panicked and wanted to come out of the market by selling their stocks though the regulator took some positive measures," he said. However, day's total turnover value increased slightly and stood at Tk 3.24 billion, up by 9.70 per cent against Tk 2.96 billion in the previous session. A total of 38.00 million shares changed hands on the day against 31.54 million in the last trading session, Continued to page 20