Dhaka stocks finished almost flat with a sluggish turnover on Wednesday, as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and floor price limitation kept the investors watchful.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) key index - DSEX - went up by 4.37 points or 0.11 per cent to close at 3,966.
Turnover slumped to Tk 594 million, which was 12 per cent lower than the previous day. The investors did not show any enthusiasm for buying shares at current price level amid the fast-spreading Covid-19 pandemic.
Market analysts said lack of institutional buyers coupled with current floor price limitation is preventing many investors from buying and selling shares at desired prices, which is a major reason behind the low turnover.
The stock market regulator imposed the floor price limitation for all stocks on March 19 on the basis of their average price of last five days to stop massive fall of the index amid pandemic panic.
"In the existing system the buyers do not have enough scope to purchase securities at their desired prices," said a merchant banker.
He noted that the investors are also afraid of further economic contraction and lower earnings of the listed companies against the backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis.
The DSE core index is hovering at 3,960 points in the last few sessions, as the investors are reluctant to make any fresh investment in stocks amid gradual worsening of the pandemic situation.
The death toll from Covid-19 outbreak and the number of detected patients keep rising rapidly in recent days. The total death from the deadly virus infection reaches 1,012, and the number of infected person stands at 74,865 in the country as of Wednesday (June 10).
"The investors are cautiously waiting for the upcoming budget announcements before making further investment decisions," said a leading broker.
Finance Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal will unveil the national budget today (Thursday) for the upcoming fiscal year (FY), 2020-2021.
On Wednesday, most of the shares remained stuck on the DSE trading floor, and only a few buyers picked some of the offered shares.
Of the issues traded, 235 remained unchanged, while only 24 issues advanced, and 15 declined on the trading floor.
Two other DSE indices also edged up. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 3.15 points to finish at 1,332, and the DSE Shariah Index gained 1.50 points to close at 919.
According to International Leasing Securities, most of the stocks remained stagnated on the trading floor due to floor price mechanism, which led to very low turnover in recent days.
However, some opportunist investors expressed their buying interest in pharma, power and miscellaneous sectors based on budget expectation, said the stockbroker.
A total number of 12,512 trades were executed in the day's trading session, with trading volume of 21.88 million shares and mutual fund units.
The DSE market-cap also inched up to Tk 3,105 billion, from Tk 3,102 billion in the previous session.
Pharma sector dominated the turnover chart, grabbing 53 per cent of the day's total turnover.
Beximco Pharma topped the turnover chart with shares worth Tk 93 million changing hands, followed by GlaxoSmithKline, Beximco, Meghna Petroleum and Central Pharma.
Beximco Pharma was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 3.28 per cent, while Meghna Cement was the worst loser, shedding 3.07 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) edged higher with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI) advancing 14 points to close at 11,258, and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - gaining 8.0 points to finish at 6,821.
Of the issues traded, 21 gained, eight declined and 58 remained unchanged on the CSE floor.
The port-city bourse traded 858,772 shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 22 million in turnover.
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