Stocks kept the losing streak for the third straight week as risk-averse investors continued their sell-offs on major sector issues amid persistently lackluster trading.
The week saw five trading days as usual. First three sessions saw sharp decline while the last two ended higher and failed to offset the first three days' sharp fall of index.
Week-on-week, the DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 76.69 points or 1.34 per cent to settle at 5,647. DSEX wiped out more than 261 points in the past three consecutive weeks.
Market analysts said the cautious investors sell-offs their stakes particularly in the first three sessions amid lower than expected earnings declarations coupled with pressure on margin loans adjustment to regulatory allowable limit.
However, the market bounced back in the fourth session after the stock market regulator's announcement that it is working on reducing corporate tax for listed companies, they said.
Prof Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), Tuesday said they will ask the government to widen the gap of corporate taxes between listed and non-listed firms in the next budget in order to attract well-performing companies to the market.
Now, the average difference is 7.5 per cent but the stock market regulator wants it to rise up to 15 per cent by reducing the tax for listed companies.
If it will happen, general investors will be benefited as the listed companies' net profit will rise and subsequently, dividend payout, said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
However, he noted that the merchant bankers' cautiousness in providing margin loans and price fall of several large-cap stocks caused the index to fall.
Newly listed stocks that continued to rally over the last few weeks saw correction in the outgoing week with four out of top ten losers belonging to the newly listed companies.
Energypac Power Generation plunged 24.13 per cent to close at Tk 54.40 a share on Thursday, making it the week's worst loser.
The port city's bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also fell sharply with its CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - plunging by 344 points to settle at 1,6331 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - shedding 212 points to finish the week at 9,853.
Of the issues traded, 183 declined, 52 advanced and 60 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city's bourse traded 57.42 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 2.90 billion during the week.
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