Dhaka stocks fell for the second consecutive session on Wednesday to hit fresh lows, as anxious investors continued selling shares to protect their funds amid the ongoing volatile market momentum, market operators said.
With the decreased activity of investors, the total turnover of the Dhaka Stock Exchange was Tk聽306.67 crore on Wednesday.
Before Wednesday, the previous lowest total turnover of the Dhaka bourse was on January 3 at Tk聽292.14 crore.
The total turnover of the Dhaka Stock Exchange in the previous session on Tuesday was Tk 440.72 crore.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, decreased by 50.35 points, or 0.95 per cent, to close at 5,228.53 points on the day after losing 31.63 points in the previous trading session.
Before Wednesday, the key index of the Dhaka bourse was at its lowest on April 12, 2021, when it stood at 5,188.27 points.
In the past 12 sessions, the Dhaka bourse gained in only one session on Monday and lost the other 11 sessions.
The key index on Sunday had hit below the 5,300-point mark for the first time after 2021.
Market operators noted that increasing economic concerns, including the ongoing reduction in foreign exchange reserves in the country had left a negative impression on investors.
They said that margin sales, or forced sale pressures at the brokerage houses were a key reason for the market鈥檚 recent continued downfall, also the news of National Board of Revenue鈥檚 possible move on imposing capital gain tax on individual investors further contributed to the negative vibe.
Forced selling or forced liquidation usually entails the involuntary sales of assets or securities to create liquidity.
Market operators mentioned that investor confidence was further hit by the Bangladesh Bank鈥檚 decision to raise repo rates, which could result in higher interest rates in the money market.
In the past 14 weeks, the market moved forward in only three weeks.
Of the 394 issues traded on the day, 64 advanced, 286 declined and 44 remained unchanged.
The DSE Shariah index decreased by 13.59 points, or 1.17 per cent, to close at 1,138.96 points on Wednesday.
The DS30 index lost 16.79 points, or 0.88 per cent, to finish at 1,869.93 points.
On the sectoral front, textile issues exerted the highest turnover, followed by pharmaceutical and bank sectors.
EBL Securities in its daily commentary said, 鈥楴ervy investors shy away from taking positions in equities and continue to trim their exposure to capital market investments to escape further losses owing to the prolonged subdued market sentiment with no sign of revival yet.鈥�
Alif Industries topped the turnover chart on the day with its shares worth Tk 14.01 crore changing hands.
Beach Hatchery, Orion Pharma, Orion Infusion, Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream, Capitec Grameen Bank Growth Fund, IFIC Bank, Rupali Life Insurance, Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa, and Best Holdings were the other turnover leaders.