DSE turnover sinks below 3b mark

The daily trade turnover on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) tumbled below Tk 3.0 billion-mark after 20 months on Tuesday as the majority of stocks remained stuck at floor owing to price restriction.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 2.72 billion on the country's premier bourse, plunging further by 21 per cent from the previous day's mark of Tk 3.45 billion.
It was the lowest single-day transaction since April 5 last year, when the turnover totalled Tk 2.36 billion.
Market operators said participation of investors remained thin as liquidation opportunities had been squeezed for 82 per cent shares due to price restriction, including large-cap ones.
The large-cap stocks, which dominated the market turnover chart earlier, remained stuck at floor due to limited liquidation opportunities, making investors reluctant to inject fresh funds into equities, said a merchant banker.
He noted that the gloomy macroeconomic outlook weakened investors' confidence while the general investors prefer to hold cash to meet the higher living costs instead of making any investment in stocks.
"Most investors chose to remain on the sidelines amid the ongoing economic adversities and apprehensions about political uncertainties in days to come," he said.
According to International Leasing Securities, the turnover hit a fresh 20-month low as most of the large-cap stocks are snoozing on the floor due to the buyers' disinterest.
The investors opted to protect their funds from the ailing market in an effort to minimise losses, it added.
Most of the traded issues remained stuck at the 'floor price'. Of the 303 issues traded, 50 advanced, 25 declined and 228 issues remained unchanged on the DSE.
However, the benchmark index of the DSE went up by 16.45 points to settle at 6,229, after gaining 33 points in the past two days.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also edged up, with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) rising 42 points to settle at 18,359 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) gaining 25 points to close at 11,000.
The port-city bourse traded 0.65 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 35.40 million.

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