Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The top management of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) will hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss ways to offset the impact of the ongoing political instability on the stock market.
 
“The political turmoil has already destabilised the market and has severely dampened investor sentiment,” Rakibur Rahman, president of the DSE reportedly said. 
 
He also said the retail investors are losing confidence, while the institutional investors have adopted a wait-and-see policy.
 
The political upheaval came at a time when the market was just starting to pick up following two years of decline.
 
DSEX, the benchmark general index of the DSE, lost around 10 percent in the last one month.
 
In January, the price index went as high up as the 4,300-point mark, with the daily turnover hitting the BDT 550-crore mark. But last Thursday, the index dropped to 3,832 points and the turnover to BDT 1.78 billion. 
 
According to a recent survey conducted by LankaBangla Securities, a top stockbroker, political instability poses the biggest risk to the economy and the capital market in 2013.
 
BBN/SSR/AD-10Mar13-11:39 am (BST)