Stocks return to the red

Stocks returned to the red last week with low turnover as most of the investors refrained from buying new shares due to a lack of confidence.
The benchmark general index, DGEN, closed at 5,727 points, after declining 182.40 points or 3.09 percent in the week.
Most of the small investors decided to stay away from the market amid high risks, said a small investor.
"The government has failed to give security to our money," he added.
The daily average turnover on the DSE declined by 20.41 percent to Tk 332 crore, declining from the previous week's Tk 418 crore.
“It's a matter of concern that the turnover is very low as institutional investors are yet to be fully active in the market,” said Prof Mahmood Osman Imam, who teaches finance at Dhaka University.
Investors manipulate the market by buying heavily into small-cap companies to hike prices, while the market experiences low turnover, said Imam, also a member of the index development committee of the DSE.
He suggested the interest rates of margin loans of some small investors should be waived for the development of the capital market.
Some groups possibly are trying to push the market to such low levels that they can purchase shares at lower prices, said a market analyst.
The regulator should find out who would want to play foul in the market, he added.
The latest move of the stakeholders to float a market stabilisation fund has failed to bring back investors' confidence as difficulties might arise in operation and management of the fund, said another market analyst.
Also the latest move has failed to create trust among the investors, said the analyst.
As a result, when the prices rise, the investors tend to sell their shares to come out of the market, he added.
A total of 36.68 lakh transactions were executed last week, which is 28.31 percent lower than the previous week.
The week witnessed four trading sessions instead of five as Thursday was a public holiday on the occasion of Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Hindu community. In total, three sessions lost, while one closed flat.
Out of the 265 issues traded, only 58 advanced, 204 declined, and three remained unchanged.
All the financial sectors retraced this week¬ --banking sector lost 3.69 percent, non-bank financial institutions 4.32 percent, general insurance 3.25 percent and life insurance lost 3.20 percent.
Grameenphone, which represents the telecommunication sector, was the biggest loser among all the sectors last week; it lost 6.23 percent following Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's news that the company will have to pay Tk 3,034 crore in unpaid revenue and tax.
However, it is yet to be decided how much the company will actually have to pay.
Pharmaceuticals and power declined by 2.23 percent and 2.67 percent, while cement gained 1.77 percent as Lafarge Surma Cement advanced 8.4 percent following price adjustment for rights issue.
Lafarge Surma Cement topped the week's turnover list with 15.73 lakh shares worth Tk 68.54 crore changing hands.