BBN file photo
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s stocks ended lower for the two consecutive weeks that ended on Thursday as cautious investors continued their selling spree.
Market operators said the persistent liquidity shortage coupled with ongoing pessimism kept investors mostly inactive, taking the key index below 5,900-mark once again with low turnover
The week saw five trading sessions as usual. Of them, the first two trading sessions witnessed sharp fall while last three recovered most of the losses.
Finally, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,871 points, losing 36 points or 0.61 percent to settle at points over the previous week.
Two other indices of the premier bourse also ended in the red. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 1.29 points to finish at 2,169 and DSES (Shariah) index shed 3.07 points to settle at 1,372.
The port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI – falling 172 points to settle at 18,079 and Selective Categories Index - CSCX –losing 108 points to finish at 10,911.
Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, stood at BDT 18.68 billion against BDT 14.98 billion in the previous week as last week saw five trading sessions instead of previous week’s four.
The daily turnover averaged BDT 3.73 billion, which was 0.28 per cent lower than the previous week’s average of BDT 3.75 billion.
According to International Leasing Securities, the market saw correction for the two consecutive weeks amid ambiguity over the Dhaka bourse’s share sales to a strategic partner and concerns over the existing liquidity shortage.
Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has put the banking sectors of Bangladesh at higher risk category which stimulated the investors to liquidate their position from bank and financial institution sectors, the stockbroker said.
“Selling of shares mostly from bank, food, financial institutions and textile sectors contributed to the fall in indices in the week although the bargain hunters took position on lucrative price levels in cement and telecom sectors’ stocks,” said the stockbroker.
The losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 338 issues traded, 203 closed lower, 113 ended higher and 22 issues remaining unchanged on the DSE floor.
Square Pharmaceuticals topped the week’s turnover chart with 2.24 million shares worth nearly BDT 701 million changing hands, followed by IFAD Autos, Unique Hotel & Resorts, Olympic Industries and Grameenphone.
EBL First Mutual Fund was the week’s best performer, posting a gain of 13.19 percent while GSP Finance was the week’s worst loser, slumping by 25.26 percent following its price adjustment after record date.
BBN/SSR/SR