Stocks extended its losing streak for a third straight week to Thursday as investors have been unnerved by the prospect of economic uncertainties stemming from ongoing nationwide student protests.
As the students' movement turned out deadly leading to imposition of curfew, most investors retreated to sidelines, market experts said.
Clouds of concern over the equity market became heavier following the news that the US-based credit rating agency, S&P Global, downgraded Bangladesh's long-term sovereign rating to B+ from BB-.
Amid the market's gloomy outlook, investors resorted to panic sell-offs on the opening day of the week, and the trend continued for the next two days.
Although the market managed to close positive in the last two days of the week, overall market sentiment remains subdued.
Substantial price erosion of large-cap stocks, including blue chips, dragged down the benchmark DSEX index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) by almost 80 points or 1.47 per cent to settle the week at 5,334.
The DSEX lost a total of 173 points in the past three straight weeks.
As large stocks kept sliding, the market-cap of the DSE, calculated by multiplying the total number of outstanding shares with the current market prices, lost Tk 104 billion in the past three weeks.
The market pulse remained downbeat, as investors remained worried about the potential economic impact of the recent unrest centering the countrywide student protests amidst uncertainties regarding the market's outlook, said EBL Securities.
However, the market showed some recovery signs in the last two days of the week as bargain hunters took positions in certain beaten-down stocks to avail short-term gaining opportunities, the stockbroker said.
Price erosion of Power Grid, Beximco Pharma, Renata, Beacon Pharma and Eastern Bank largely contributed to the market plunge. They jointly accounted for 35 points of the index decline.
Subsequently, the blue-chip DS30 index, a group of 30 prominent companies, lost almost 21 points to 1,882 while the DSES Index, which represents Shariah-based companies, shed 15 points to 1,151.
The cautious investors still shy away from taking positions in equities amidst uncertainties regarding the market's outlook, said a leading stockbroker.
Most of the investors went on a selling spree to protect their funds from the ailing market as uncertainties remained persistent centring on the anti-quota protest, said a leading broker.
"The recent unrest and subsequent ongoing nationwide curfew have hit investor sentiment," he added.
Amid the ongoing uncertainties, participation of investors remained low as total turnover stood at Tk 23.95 billion. Subsequently, the daily average turnover stood at Tk 4.79 billion.
The pharmaceutical sector kept its dominance on the turnover chart, accounting for 25 per cent of the turnover, followed by banking and food sectors.
All sectors faced selling pressure and ended in the red, except for telecoms which gained 1 per cent. Among the major sectors, non-bank financial institutions took a big hit, losing 3.54 per cent, followed by engineering, power, food, pharma and banking.
More than 82 per cent traded stocks saw price erosion. Out of the 397 issues traded, 327 declined, 49 advanced and 21 remained unchanged.
Newly-listed Techno Drugs became the most-traded stocks, with shares worth Tk 1.07 billion changing hands, followed by Agni Systems, Orion Infusion, Alif Industries, and NRB Bank.
Techno Drugs was also the top gainer for the second straight week, soaring 50.1 per cent, while Padma Life Insurance was the worst loser, enduring 19 per cent correction after its announcement of no dividends for 2023 during the week.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended sharply lower, with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI) shedding 296 points to 15,119 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) losing 172 points to 9,113.
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