Market falls, snapping 4-day recovery amid geopolitical tension

The market plummeted on Sunday, snapping a four-day recovery streak, as investors were largely reluctant to make fresh investments ahead of the Eid vacation amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
There is only one trading session [on Monday] remaining before the Eid holidays. The market will remain closed from March 17 to March 23 on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest religious festival of the Muslims.
Investors were wary of ongoing developments surrounding the Middle East conflict and adopted a cautious stance, leading to broad-based selling pressure across the trading board.
Risk-averse investors largely stayed on the sidelines, closely monitoring market direction without any visible progress toward a resolution or ceasefire in the ongoing Middle East conflict, according to EBL Securities.
The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dropped 49 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 5,319, after recovering 360 points in the past four trading days.
Market analysts said investors were considering potential macroeconomic repercussions of the geopolitical tension, particularly the risks of fuel and power supply disruptions within the country.
M. Mashrur Reaz, founder & chairman of the Policy Exchange of Bangladesh, said at a seminar on Sunday that crude oil and LNG supply shortages due to the war are impacting electricity generation, transportation, and industrial production, posing risks to food security, labour mobility, and overall industrial productivity.
There is no sign of de-escalation of the war, as it entered its 15th day on Sunday. Meanwhile, oil prices have soared across the globe, triggering further tension.
The stocks that mainly intensified the fall of the equity market on Sunday were large-cap ones, the majority of which were banks that had experienced appreciation over the last few months.
Price declines in blue-chip stocks - BRAC Bank, Islami Bank, Beximco Pharma, Square Pharma, and Pubali Bank - largely dragged the market down. They jointly accounted for a 27-point drop in the key index.
BRAC Bank alone accounted for a 10.8-point drop in the broad index DSEX, as the bank's stock eroded 3.3 per cent.
The blue-chip DS30 index fell 23 points to 2,043, while the Shariah-based DSES index dropped 8 points to 1,071.
Trading activities remained low, as total turnover stood at Tk 5.23 billion, 12 per cent lower than the previous day. The banking sector accounted for 17 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by pharma and textile.
Losers strongly outnumbered gainers on the DSE trading floor. Of the 390 issues traded, 246 saw price declines, 99 ended higher, and 45 remained unchanged.
The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange, also fell, with its CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) losing 0.48 points to 14,979 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) shedding 11 points to 9,148.

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