Stocks deepened losses this week, as investors continued selloffs amid turbulence in the financial sector following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's regime.
Massive reshuffle within the securities regulator, the board reformation of some listed banks and measures taken against certain influential figures triggered fresh concerns among investors, prompting selloffs in quick-gaining shares, market operators said.
The interim government on Sunday appointed Khondoker Rashed Maqsood as the chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), a day after M Masrur Reaz, an economist, declined to join the BSEC as its chief.
Mr Maqsood, a former banker, took over as the BSEC chairman on Monday for a four-year term. However, two commissioner posts remained vacant while the regulator reshuffled the duties of its existing two commissioners and executive directors on Thursday.
The BSEC also formed a four-member investigation committee to look into the overall activities of the Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange.
Amid such developments, the DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), tumbled 204 points or 3.45 per cent to 5,699.92.
Of the five trading days during the week, the first four sessions lost around 297 points as investors rushed to lock in recent gains in apprehension of a probable shift in market momentum. However, the last session managed to recover almost 93 points.
The DSEX eroded a total of 225 points in the past two straight weeks while 205 billion was wiped off the market-cap during this period.
The top index draggers during the week were Gramenphone, Beximco Pharma, Square Pharma, BAT Bangladesh and Robi Axiata. These six companies had a significant impact on the index as they jointly accounted for a 60-point fall in the key index.
Grameenphone, the largest stock in terms of market-cap, fell 8 per cent, accounting for a 16.5-point fall in the index alone, followed by Beximco Pharma contributing 14.6-point fall.
Other blue-chip stocks such as Square Pharma, BAT Bangladesh, Heidelberg Cement, and Orion Pharma also saw a sharp price fall during the week.
The blue-chip index DS30, a group of 30 prominent companies, slumped almost 89 points to 2090 while the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, fell 45 points to 1,219.
"Stocks extended their losing streak for two consecutive weeks as investors preferred to remain watchful amid ongoing reforms within the regulatory body of the capital market, along with the board reformation of particular banking companies," said EBL Securities.
The market mostly remained sell-dominant throughout the week despite bargain hunters' efforts to rescue the market in the final session by taking positions in certain lucrative scrips following major corrections, said the stockbroker.
Prices of 91 per cent of shares saw price erosion, as out of 394 issues traded, 357 declined and 32 advanced while only five issued remained unchanged.
Cautious investors opted to trim their exposure to capital market investments due to dwindling confidence. As a result, total turnover of the week dropped to Tk 31.22 billion, as against Tk 64.11 billion in the week before.
Accordingly, the average daily turnover came down to Tk 6.24 billion, which was 51 per cent lower than the previous week's average of Tk 12.82 billion.
The banking sector dominated the turnover chart, capturing 27 per cent of the week's total turnover, followed by pharmaceuticals with 15 per cent and telecom 12 per cent.
All sectors posted negative performance. Among the large-cap sectors, telecoms experienced the highest loss of 8.8 per cent, as the sector heavyweight GP lost 8.1 per cent alone after almost 40 per cent gain in the week after the ouster of Hasina-government.
It is followed by non-bank financial institutions, cement, engineering, pharma, food and banking sectors.
Grameenphone became the most-traded stock for the second straight week, with shares worth Tk 2.88 billion changing hands, closely followed by Brac Bank, Square Pharma, United Commercial Bank and City Bank.
Midland Bank was the top gainer with a rise of 12.1 per cent, while SEML FBLSL growth Fund was the top loser, shedding 14.5 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended sharply lower with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI) losing 653 points to 16,378, while the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) plunged 394 points to 9,865 points.
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