Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) –Dhaka stocks went in the tailspin Monday with the benchmark index sinking below 6000-mark for the first time in two months.
The sharp fall and continued bearish sentiment has prompted the unnerved investors to take to the street.
Analysts attributed the fall to uncertainty over the pending outcomes of probe report on share scam.
From the opening bell market witnessed the bloodshed of the main gauge and the situation exacerbated as the session progressed, sparking violent protests by the small investors.
The DSE General Index, DGEN, plummeted at 5863.97, shedding 212.34 points or 3.49 per cent. It went down below 6000-mark since March 7 this year.
The frustrated investors gathered at around 12 pm in front of the DSE building and chanted slogans against finance minister, securities regulator and central bank. They demanded to put the break on downslide of the market.
They set fire on woods and damaged two motorcycles in commercial heart Motijheel, halting traffic movement on the busy road. Law enforcers, however, brought the situation under control without any untoward incident.
The DSE saw the protest since December-January when the market crashed losing more than 30 per cent. Then, the government formed probe panel on share scam that submitted the report on April 7 to the government.
“Frustration, fear and anxiety over the pending outcomes of probe report took a heavy toll on the market,” said LankaBangla Securities in its daily market analysis.
It also said, nervousness gripped the investors who offloaded shares in speculation of further index fall and prolonged bearish trend.
Activity deteriorated as broad market turnover was Tk 6.13 billion, down by 2.86 per cent over the previous session. Around 61.31 million shares changed hands on the DSE, which was highly lower than average trade volume in the last 14 days.
Market breadth also negative as out of 251 issues traded, 11 gained, 237 declined and three remained unchanged.
“Dust over the probe report should be settled to put the investors confidence on rail,” said Reaz Islam, chief executive officer of LR Global Bangladesh.
The government should send a clear message on how to deal with the probe report, he added.
The negative sentiment spread to most of the sectors. Banks was down by 3.08 per cent, NBFIs 4.95 per cent, telecommunications 4.49 per cent and energy 1.95 per cent.
BBN/KMS/SI/AD-25Apr11-8:42 pm (BST)
