DSE turnover falls to 7-month low

Turnover of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell to a fresh seven-month low on Monday as the investors remained reluctant to make fresh investments in the market amid ongoing bearish trend.
Both the bourses --- DSE and CSE --- shortened the share trading settlement period by one day (T+2) recently in a bid to increase liquidity flow in the capital market, but virtually it failed to achieve the desired result.
 "The investors remained skeptical about the success of T+2, raising question over fund availability in the investors' accounts at the time of making any buy order," said a stock broker.
Daily turnover value dropped to Tk 2.17 billion on Monday, registering a decline of 5.24 per cent over the previous day's value of Tk 2.29 billion. It was also seven-month low turnover since Tk 1.88 billion on October 22, 2103.
Along with decreasing turnover, the prime index of the DSE --- DSEX --- also came down below 4,400 points psychological level to close at 4,364.27 points after shedding 38.23 points or 0.86 per cent as market started another bearish vibe in terms of both turnover and market capitalisation.
DSEX ultimately accumulated a total 200 points loss during this month so far. Losers outpaced gainers as out of 293 issues traded, 178 declined, 84 gained and 31 remained unchanged.
"The ongoing pessimism kept investors mostly inactive, bringing the turnover to a seven-month low," said an analyst. "It is very apparent that institutional investors' participation level is very low. Many are waiting for the upcoming budget," he said.
"Dragged by profit booking on selected sectors like banks, NBFIs and fuel and power sectors over consistently slowing down of market activities, index continued to remain under pressure for the seventh consecutive session," commented LankaBangla Securities.
Benchmark index extended further losses with DSEX breaking the psychological 4,400 level weighed down by concern over reducing exposure of banks in capital market following the Bangladesh Bank's pressure, said the stock broker.
 "Panic grew strong in investors' mindset, with the current downtrend continuing unabated and defying one psychological barrier after another," said IDLC Investments.
 "The bourse observed chronic uncertainty, pushing investors to the sideline and turnover to a 7-month low. Turnover at this level was last observed in political strife-ridden October of last year," said the merchant bank.
 "Ongoing bearish vibe clutched the country's stock market firmly while the investors' participation fell to this year's record low," commented International Leasing Securities.
The investors appeared to go sideline and tried to fathom the bottom of the market, said the International Leasing.
Zenith Investments said: "The total turnover volume went for a sharp decline along with all three indices, as not a single sector was able to generate enough strength or enthusiasm to change the direction of the market".
Investors are now concerned about the ongoing downtrend whereas others are just holding their cash as the market fails to inspire trust for lucrative investments, said the Zenith analysis.