Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as the jittery investors went for panic-driven sell-offs amid concerns over the country's macroeconomic situation.
The market opened lower and the downturn continued until the end of the session with no sign of reversal, eventually ending over 73 points lower.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), slid 73.62 points or 1.10 per cent to settle below 6600-mark after 12-session to 6,592. DSEX eroded over 106 points in the two consecutive sessions.
Two other indices also ended lower. The DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, fell 15.13 points to finish at 2,420 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 15.47 points to close at 1,433.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, also dropped and amounted to Tk 11.35 billion, which was 9.78 per cent lower than the previous day's three months highest turnover of Tk 12.58 billion.
Market insiders said the global situation and commodity market price instability made investors concerned about the macroeconomic situation of the country.
The ongoing economic crisis of Sri Lanka also hit stock investors' sentiment, prompting some investors for selling shares, said a merchant banker.
The investors also fear that the central bank may increase the lending and deposit rates amid rising inflation, which may lead to liquidity shortage in the capital market, he said.
"The stocks nosedived as the risk-averse investors opted out due to the fear of regulatory intervention on the interest rate to fight inflation," said International Leasing Securities.
The risk-averse investor preferred to stay away from the market volatility prevailing over the trading session, said the stockbroker.
"Amid the global economic turmoil owing to commodity market volatility and price increases for essentials, most investors adopted a conservative approach and favoured sell-off stocks in order to avoid any considerable correction," said EBL Securities.
A rise in imports, imbalance in current account, shortage of dollars and rise in business cost have become major concerns for investors, according to a leading broker.
The media reported that Bangladesh's current-account deficit hits an 'all-time high' at $14.07 billion as widening trade gap coupled with lower remittance receipts affects the macroeconomic balance.
Besides, Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday tightened the letter of credit (LC) rules, doubling the margin for all imports, excluding some essentials, to ease import-payment pressure on the economy.
All sectors faced corrections with general insurance suffering most of 2.40 per cent, followed by financial institutions 1.90 per cent, cement 1.50 per cent, telecom 1.20 per cent, banking 0.80 per cent, power 0.80 per cent and pharma 0.70 per cent.
More than 85 per cent traded issues lost prices as out of 379 issues traded, 323 declined, 35 advanced and 21 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Rangpur Dairy & Food Products was the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 985 million changing hands, followed by ACI Formulations (Tk 770 million), Beximco (Tk 471 million), JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing (Tk 464 million) and Shinepukur Ceramics (Tk 290 million).
Bangladesh Finance was the top gainer, posting a 6.96 per cent gain while Asia Insurance was the worst loser, losing 6.37 per cent following its corporate declaration.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended sharply lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -losing 202 points to settle at 19,329 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - shedding 119 points to close at 11,598.
Of the issues traded, 247 declined, 40 advanced and 20 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port-city bourse traded 8.83 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value worth Tk 258 million.
babulfexpress@gmail.com