Small investors anxiously looking

The key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange lost 97 points on Sunday in what was the biggest single-day fall in 17 months.
The DSEX shed 96.95 points or 1.88 per cent to settle at 5,033 as sales pressure mounted.
It has been the steepest single-day slide since February 18, 2018 when the DSEX lost more than 99 points.
The sharp decline in index prompted the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) to step in and detect the reasons for the recent 'unusual' market trend.
After Sunday's fall, the DSEX dipped to a fresh 31-month low, the level witnessed on December 28, 2016 when the index was 5,027.
The DSEX has suffered a loss of 388 points or 7.15 per cent in 14 trading sessions since parliament passed the budget for fiscal year 2020 in June.
The market capitalisation also shrank by Tk 225 billion during the period, the DSE data shows.
The securities regulator formed a four-member committee on the day to ferret out the reasons for the slump.
The committee has been assigned to see as to whether stakeholders have any role in the market plunge or not.
BSEC executive director Mohammad Rezaul Karim will head the body and submit its report within 15 working days.
"We've formed the committee following the continuous fall in share prices and investors' worries," BSEC executive director Mohammad Saifur Rahman told the FE.
The DSEX also plunged to a 30-month low on July 15 last, prompting a group of small investors to take to the street in protest against the failure of the regulator to address the suspected manipulation in the market.
Market analysts said the index on the free fall, as panic-stricken investors selling shares over People's Leasing liquidation move and mobile telephony giant Grameenphone's tussle with the telecom watchdog.
"People's Leasing liquidation issue, GP woes coupled with the liquidity shortage kept most of the investors at bay," said an analyst of a leading brokerage firm.
He noted that the collapse of People's Leasing had exposed the sorry state of the country's financial sector.
The panic spread across the market as investors feared some other companies in the financial sector might face the same fate due to their poor business performance, he added.
Dr. A B Mirza Azizul Islam, a former adviser to the caretaker government, said the ongoing liquidity crisis in the financial sector might weigh on the market.
Mr Islam, a former SEC chairman, echoed the analyst's sentiment, saying the folding of People's Leasing might spread panic among investors and the central bank and the securities regulator should give assurance to the investors not to be worried.
Mr Islam, said the budgetary measures could not meet investors' expectations; rather the penalty tax imposed on the listed companies would constrain business expansion while the undercutting the companies' ability to pay dividend.
Trading activities also fell 7.0 per cent to Tk 3.68 billion from Tk 3.95 billion in the previous session.
All the major sectors suffered losses with engineering, non-bank financial institutions, telecom, food and banking losing more than 1.50 per cent each.
Losers outnumbered the gainers as out of 352 issues traded, 273 closed lower, 61 advanced and 18 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
"Investors went on force selling due to lack of confidence," said EBL Securities, a brokerage.
A group of retail investors tried to stage demonstration in front of the DSE building protesting the contentious fall, but police foiled their attempt.

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