BBN file photo
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s stocks extended the losing streak for the two consecutive weeks that end on Thursday as worried investors continued to dump their holdings to prevent further losses.
A lack of investor confidence, the telecom regulator's wrangling with Grameenphone (GP), soaring non-performing loans and falling portfolio investment were among the factors behind the latest erosion in stock prices, according to market operators.
GP, the largest listed company in terms of market capitalisation, wiped out 5.29 per cent during the week to close at BDT 295.50 each on Thursday.
Week-on-week, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 82.76 points or 1.62 per cent to close at 5013.Two other indices also ended lower.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 42 points to finish at 1,758 and the DSE Shariah Index lost more than 16 points to close at 1,167.
The total turnover on the prime bourse stood at BDT 19.73 billion last week, down from BDT 22.43 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged out at BDT 3.95 billion, which was 12 per cent lower over the previous week’s average of BDT 4.48 billion
Among other factors, they said the financial sector is not performing well as investors are suffering from a confidence crisis due to soaring non-performing loans, which hit hard the banking sector stocks. The sector lost 1.90 per cent in the outgoing week.
Falling foreign portfolio investment in the country's capital market also dented the local investor confidence, they added.
The net foreign investment in DSE remained negative for the six consecutive months as of August, as the foreign investors bought shares worth BDT 1.77 billion and sold BDT 2.79 billion worth of shares, resulting in the net position of negative BDT 1.02 billion.
The outgoing week saw a total of five trading days as usual. Of them, first four sessions ended lower while the last session posted a marginal gain.
Most of the major sectors showed negative performances, with telecom posting the highest loss, shedding 4.70 per cent, followed by non-bank financial institutions (2.70 per cent), banking (1.90 per cent), food (2.0 per cent), power (1.10 per cent) and textile (1.60 per cent).
Losers outnumbered the gainers, as out of 355 issues traded, 233 closed lower, 104 ended higher and 18 issues remained unchanged on the DSE floor in the outgoing week.
Monno Ceramic Industries dominated the week's turnover chart, with 4.78 million shares worth nearly BDT 1.09 billion changing hands during the week.
Kay & Que was the week's best performer, posting a gain of 22.12 per cent while Padma Islami Life Insurance was the worst loser, shedding 15 per cent.
On the other hand, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower, with its CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - losing 317 points to settle at 15,263 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - shedding 191 points to finish the week at 9,266.
BBN/SSR/AD