Dhaka stocks finished down on Monday after a rise in the previous trading session, with investors going back into selling mood after showing optimism for one day as the continued downbeat vibe on the market amid the ongoing economic worries in the country affected their confidence, market operators said.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, decreased by 46.15 points, or 0.82 per cent, to close at 5,569.68 points on the day after gaining 97.36 points in the previous trading session.
The news regarding the reappointment of the current chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Shibli Rubayat-Ul Islam prompted investors to be hopeful in the previous session, but failed to retain the momentum on the market, according to market operators.
In the past 10 weeks, the Dhaka bourse witnessed decrease in the indices in a total of nine weeks, while gaining only in the one week before Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims, which was celebrated in the country on April 11.
Market operators said that rising interest rates in banks might have prompted investors to shift their funds to the sector in the past weeks.
They also said that multiple other factors were working behind the bearish trend of stocks, such as lack of investor confidence amid economic woes in the country and global geopolitical tensions, liquidity crisis in banks and sudden change of policies.
The turnover on the DSE saw an increase to Tk 663.43 crore on the day compared with that of Tk 613.95 crore in the previous trading session.
Of the 397 issues traded on the day, 86 advanced, 277 declined and 34 remained unchanged.
On the sectoral front, pharmaceutical issues exerted the highest turnover, followed by textile and food stocks.
EBL Securities in its daily market commentary said, 鈥楾he indices observed a downward trend throughout the session as sellers dominated the market, being wary of the market momentum, while cautious investors preferred to remain watchful of the current earnings declarations of the listed companies.鈥�
鈥楳oreover, media reports regarding the probable imposition of capital gain tax in the next financial year as proposed by the NBR have also triggered investor sentiment further amidst an already depressed capital market,鈥� it added.
The DSE Shariah index decreased by 12.36 points, or 1.00 per cent, to close at 1,221.79 points on Monday.
The DS30 index lost 2.14 points, or 0.10 per cent, to finish at 1,993.99 points.
Asiatic Laboratories topped the turnover chart on the day with its shares worth Tk 42.92 crore changing hands.
Orion Infusion, Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream, Malek Spinning Mills, Alif Industries, Salvo Chemical Industry, Central Pharmaceuticals, Kohinoor Chemicals Company (Bangladesh), IT Consultants and Beach Hatchery were the other turnover leaders.
