Stocks fall amid panic sales

Shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell yesterday after a two-day break as jitter investors went for panic sales as global uncertainty and higher commodity prices persist.

The benchmark index of the bourse, DSEX, was down 0.8 per cent, or 53 points, to close the day at 6,718.

The DS30, the index for the blue-chip stocks, and the DSES, the shariah index, lost 19.26 points and 8.89 points, respectively.

The losers took a strong lead over the gainers as 296 securities declined, 46 advanced, and 39 did not see any price movement.

Investors reduced their participation significantly in the market, sending turnover, an important indicator, to fall to Tk 620 crore, a decrease of 26 per cent from Tk 836 crore recorded a day ago.

"The jittery investors converted their investments into cash fearing the price hike of necessities during Ramadan and the worldwide ongoing economic turmoil," said International Leasing Securities Ltd in its daily analysis of the market.

All sectors on the premier bourse in the country witnessed price correction.

The paper and printing sector was down 1.9 per cent, the general insurance gave up 1.6 per cent, and the jute sector shed 1.4 per cent.

The investors' attention was mainly concentrated on textile (13.5 per cent), financial institutions (12.6 per cent) and engineering (12.2 per cent).

IPDC Finance, Genex Infosys, and VFS Thread Dyeing led the scrip-wise turnover board, with their shares worth Tk 50 crore, Tk 30 crore and Tk 29 crore changing hands, respectively.

JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing was the top gainer on the day, surging 9.92 per cent. Rangpur Foundry, Gemini Sea Food, Apex Tannery, VFS Thread Dyeing, and Prime Finance & Investment rose between 3 per cent and 6 per cent. 

Fortune Shoes and Savar Refractories declined 2 per cent, the maximum decline allowed by the stock market regulator presently.

Earlier last month, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission lowered the circuit breaker limit to 2 per cent from 10 per cent to forestall the freefall of the stocks amid renewed global uncertainty caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and runaway global commodity prices that have seriously affected the prices in Bangladesh. 

Reckitt Benckiser, Sonali Paper & Board Mills, Republic Insurance Company, Shyampur Sugar Mills, Paramount Insurance Company and Pragati Life Insurance were also among the major losers.  

The DSMEX, the index for the small and medium enterprises, closed at 1,330 after adding 17.32 per cent, or 196.41 points. All of the nine stocks listed on the platform advanced.

Turnover rose to Tk 17.56 crore yesterday from Tk 6.75 crore on Sunday, DSE data showed.

The key index of the Chittagong Stock Exchange lost 0.63 per cent, or 124 points, to end the day at 19,700. Turnover slipped to Tk 14.55 crore, down from Tk 18.87 crore a day ago.

Losers outnumbered gainers as 48 stocks rose, 197 fell and 37 were unchanged.