DSEX drops to 4,287.38 on panic sale

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) broad index - DSEX - witnessed another sharp loss of 97 points on Sunday, and came down below 4,300 points, following investors' selling pressure.
On the day, majority number of listed securities lost prices amid investors' worries regarding continuous downtrend of capital market.
At the end of the session, the index settled at 4,287.38 points with a loss of 2.21 per cent.
Following the plunges, observed in last three consecutive sessions, DSEX lost 4.0 per cent or 178.69 points.
The session opened negatively on Sunday, and the downtrend continued until closure amid investors' panic sale. During the day's session, no strong recovery stance was observed.
Finally, out of the 355 issues traded, only 37 advanced, 304 declined and 14 remained unchanged on the premier bourse.
The shariah-based index - DSES - declined 1.66 per cent or 16.86 points to close at 999.06 points.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chip securities, closed at 1,435.0 points with a loss of 1.86 per cent or 27.24 points.
The turnover stood at over Tk 4.28 billion, which was 3.32 per cent higher than the turnover of the previous session.
Shahidul Islam, chief executive officer of VIPB Asset management, said: "Investors normally become panicked of losing investments, if the market witnesses sharp correction for some sessions."
He said the central bank should adopt an expansionary monetary policy, reducing interest rate on repo, to enhance liquidity measures required for financial sector and capital market.
The managing director of a leading merchant bank said sellers seemed more active (in the market) compared to buyers.
"Outcome of the recent market supportive measures, including the proposed special fund for capital market, is yet to be visible in the market. It frustrated many investors," he added.
Prices of many junk shares recently rose abnormally following the news regarding the market supportive measures, which damaged the confidence of prudent investors, he opined.
Of the major sectors on the DSE, cement sector witnessed the highest price correction of up to 4.9 per cent on Sunday.
Among other major sectors, which witnessed price correction, bank declined 2.8 per cent, engineering 3.0 per cent, financial institutions 2.4 per cent, fuel & power 2.2 per cent, pharmaceuticals & chemicals 0.7 per cent, and textile 3.90 per cent.
Telecommunication was the only sector that witnessed price appreciation, riding on Grameenphone (GP). The share price of GP advanced 0.19 per cent or Tk 0.5 to close at Tk 265.70 each.

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