DSE turnover sinks to 16-month low

Dhaka stocks slumped yesterday with turnover hitting a 16-month low at 135.90 crore.
According to insiders, the market is facing a liquidity crisis for various reasons, including pullback of investment by local and foreign investors and confusion over the current market trend among investors.
Investors are also cashing in money by selling shares ahead of Tuesday's trading debut of the two directly listed companies, ACI Formulations and Shinepukur Ceramics, the insiders said.
“There is a mix of various reasons behind the fall in share prices,” said Yawer Sayeed, managing director of AIMS of Bangladesh.
Apart from investment withdrawal and confusion over the market, dependence on loans of investors is also another major reason behind the slump, Sayeed said.
When the lenders stopped providing or started adjusting loans, the prices came heavily down, he said.
The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSE General Index, dropped 40.09 points, or 1.49 percent, to 2636.73 points yesterday. The DSE All Share Price Index also slid 31.64 points, or 1.42 percent, to 2186.07 points.
Most securities traded down on the premier bourse. Of the 234 traded issues, 65 advanced, 165 declined and four remained unchanged.
A total of 1,26,93,337 shares traded on the DSE. The total market capitalisation came down to Tk 95,572.84 crore.
Beximco Pharma topped the turnover leaders with 7,59,900 traded shares worth Tk 11.88 crore. The day's other turnover leaders were Beximco, Uttara Bank, Titas Gas, ACI, Grameen Mutual Fund One: Scheme 2, Islami Bank, AIMS 1st Mutual Fund, IFIC Bank and Square Pharma.
The Chittagong stocks also marked a fall yesterday. The CSE Selective Categories Index declined 46.56 points, or 0.87 percent, to 5285.85 points. The CSE All Share Price Index fell 64.94 points, or 0.79 percent, to 8142.48 points.
A total of 35,93,038 shares worth Tk 27.53 crore changed hands on the Chittagong Stock Exchange. Of the 128 traded issues on the port city bourse. Thirty-five issues advanced and 93 declined.
Beximco topped the turnover leaders with 3,72,400 traded shares worth Tk 7.77 crore. The day's other turnover leaders were Beximco Pharma, Grameen Mutual Fund One: Scheme 2, Titas Gas, AIMS 1st Mutual Fund, Desco, AB Bank, LankaBangla Finance, Bextex and Square Pharma.