The key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), DSEX, sank below 4,000-point mark for the first time in five years yesterday amid increased concern over coronavirus.
DSEX closed at 3969.31 points after losing 160.64 points or 3.88% during the session. The index dropped below 4,000 points for the first time in five years since May 2015.
On the opening session, DSE's key index collapsed more than 209 points and most of the scrips started to fall unprecedentedly as the spooked investors lost trust in the market.
Daily turnover at the Dhaka bourse stood at Tk373 crore during the session, which was Tk409 crore in the previous session.
Among the traded issues, 10 gained, 338 declined and seven remained unchanged during the session in Dhaka bourse.
The market capitalization at Dhaka bourse dropped to Tk10,249 crore in the session.
Market insiders and experts said investors dumped their holdings amid growing concern over the impacts of coronavirus as five cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the country.
In the given situation, Bangladesh Pujibazar Biniogkari Oikya Parishad yesterday demanded closure of the stock market for the next two weeks.
A delegation of the Parishad met DSE leaders at the latter's office in Motijeel, urging the authorities to declare market shut for two weeks for the sake of investors.
The macroeconomic factors such as falling credit and deposit growth in the private sector, fear of inflation, and rising public debt from the banking sector also drove the market downward, they also said.
UCB Capital Management Limited in its daily market commentary said the market was suffering due to fears over coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Moreover, the novel virus started to upset many important economic indicators including remittance. Hence, the confidence of investors seems low.
DSE Shariah-based index DSES declined 3.28% to end at 926.4 points, while blue-chip index, DS30 went down by 3.50% to close at 1,333.3 points.
The pharmaceuticals sector contributed 20.8% of the total turnover while engineering, textile and banking sectors contributed 13.8%, 11.2% and 8% respectively, showed the daily market analysis of UCB Capital Management Limited.
Monno Ceramic Industries secured the leadership position on the top turnover chart with a turnover of Tk13.1 crore with its share price closing at Tk131 per share. International Leasing & Financial Services Ltd secured the highest gain of 10% during the session. Appollo Ispat Complex turned out the worst loser with its price declining by 10%.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange currently has a market capitalization of Tk311,114 crore with the benchmark index, DSEX down by 10.86% since the beginning of this year.
The port city’s bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also registered loss at the end of the session. The selected index, CSCX and all Share Price Index, CASPI declined by 293.9 and 489.3 points respectively.
