DSE investors stage demonstration again

FE Report The aggrieved investors, coming out of different brokerage houses, staged demonstration and formed a human-chain in front of the DSE Sunday, following a steep fall of share prices in the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). The investors, under the banner of Bangladesh Share Market Investors Unity Council sought immediate intervention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to bring back normalcy in the market and stabilise it. They also demanded immediate resignation of the Finance Minister and the chief of the monetary watchdog, chanting slogans against them. However, traffic movement from Shapla Chattar to Ittefaq intersection was normal, as additional police forces were deployed in the area. The demonstrators came out on the road at about 12:45 pm on the day. Dhaka stocks experienced yet another massive fall Sunday. At the end of the day's trading, DGEN, the key index of the DSE, dropped 194.40 points or 3.39 per cent to close at 5,533.39, four and a half months' low since May 29. Of the 263 issues traded, only 20 advanced, 239 declined and four remained unchanged, while the turnover stood at Tk 3.24 billion against Tk 2.96 billion in the previous day's session. "The market plunged due to lack of confidence among investors, absence of institutional participation, and liquidity shortage in the recent weeks. The traders, being disappointed of the current market scenario, have been trying to sell out their shares for an exit from the market," said a market insider. Besides, news regarding the government's excessive borrowing from the banking system, indicating that the institutions will not be in a position to deploy their funds in the market soon, also contributed to a drastic fall of indices, he added.