Turnover slides below Tk 4b after a day as confidence crisis deepens

The daily turnover on the Dhaka Stock Exchange tumbled below Tk 4 billion once again on Thursday as investors were reluctant to put fresh bets on stocks amid confidence crisis.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, fell to Tk 3.81 billion on the country's prime bourse, declining 9 per cent from the previous day.
It was the lowest single-day transaction in more than four-months since March 28 this year, when the turnover was recorded at Tk 2.72 billion.
Daily turnover on the prime bourse also fell below Tk 4 billion two days back on Tuesday.
The market has been in bear grip for more than a year since the stock market regulator imposed the floor price. Buyers have shown reluctance to buy stocks even at the lowest price set.
The floor price has had a negative impact as investors cannot sell shares even at the floor price in absence of buyers, said a stockbroker.
The rising interest rates and upcoming year-end earnings disclosure for the June-closing companies might make a section of investors cautious.
"The investors' participation remained sluggish due to the dampened confidence across the trading floor," said EBL Securities, in its regular market analysis.
Many investors refrained from making fresh investments in the market amid depressed market outlook and shaky investor confidence stemming from the prevailing macroeconomic and political concerns, said the stockbroker.
The market remained downbeat for the majority of the session while late-hour buying interest in sector-specific stocks helped the prime index to remain flat.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the prime bourse, saw a fractional gain of 0.26 point to settle at 6,297, after shedding more than 18 points the day before.
A majority of the traded stocks remained unchanged as out of 324 issues traded, 168 remained unchanged while 84 issues saw price erosions and 72 advanced on the DSE.
Investors were mostly active in the food sector, capturing 20 per cent of the turnover, followed by textile 12 per cent and miscellaneous 11 per cent.
Small-cap stocks dominated the turnover chart with Fu-Wang Food being the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 237 million changing hands, followed by Alif Industries, Khan Brother PP Woven Bag Industries, Emerald Oil Industries and Sonali Paper.
Low-performing stocks also dominated the gainer's list as Aramit became the top gainer, rising 8.75 per cent, followed by National Tea Company, Ambe Pharma, Emerald Oil and Rupali Life Insurance.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -shedding 23 points to settle at 18,599 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) 14 points to 11,119.

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