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Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Bangladesh’s stocks ended lower last week that ended on Thursday, after single-week break, as investors on selling spree amid ongoing liquidity shortage.
Analysts said the ongoing liquidity crisis in the banking sector pushed banks’ deposit interest rate high in recent weeks and lured many investors to put money in banks instead of investing capital market, brining average daily turnover record low.
The market witnessed four trading days instead of five as the market closed on Wednesday due to public holiday on the occasion of International Mother Language Day. All four sessions closed lower.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 143 points or 2.37 percent to settle at 5,907 over the previous week.
Two other indices of the premier bourse also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 60.67 points to finish at 2,170 and DSES (Shariah) shed 30 points to settle at 1,375.
The port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended lower with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI – falling 471 points to settle at 18,251 and Selective Categories Index - CSCX –losing 278 points to finish at 11,019.
Bearish sentiment also reflected on the trading activities as the daily turnover averaged BDT 3.38 billion, which was more than 27 percent lower than the previous week’s average of BDT 5.15 billion.
“Turnover declined sharply as the last trading day of the week recorded nearly 20-month low showcasing investors’ pessimism coupled with liquidity shortage,” commented City Bank Capital Resources, a merchant bank, in its weekly analysis.
The merchant bank noted that the market remained dry amid the tension to select Chinese consortium to be Dhaka bourse’s strategic partner which finally settled with DSE board’s ‘reconfirmation’. DSE submitted the proposal to the securities regulator.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 277 to 55, with 6 issues remaining unchanged on the DSE floor.
Unique Hotel & Resorts topped the week’s turnover chart with 10.03 million shares worth nearlyBDT 630 million changing hands, followed by Square Pharmaceuticals, CVO Petrochemicals Refinery, Grameenphone and Fu-Wang Food.
Apex Spinning & Knitting Mills was the week’s best performer, posting a gain of 14.10 percent while Bangas was the week’s worst loser, slumping by 16.55 percent.
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