Dhaka stocks witnessed another big fall on Monday, as a section of investors continued to sell shares to prevent further erosion in their portfolios amid the ongoing bearish vibe on the market, market operators said.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, shed 131.42 points in the past two trading sessions, including 65.67 points or 1.25 per cent on Monday, to settle down at 5,105.88 points on the day after losing 65.75 points in the previous trading session.
On Monday, DSEX posted its lowest in 38 months. Before Monday, the Dhaka bourse posted its lowest in its key index on April 4, 2021, when it was at 5,088.98 points.
Investors reduced their activity too on the day, as the total turnover on the bourse dived to Tk 318.78 crore, compared with that of Tk 357.90 crore in the previous session.
Market operators said that on Monday, the stock market experienced a downward trend throughout the whole session, ultimately ending in the red zone.
They said that investors were dissatisfied with the capital market-related measures taken in the proposed budget.
Finance minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali placed the proposed budget for the 2024-25 financial year at Jatiya Sangsad in the capital Dhaka on June 6.
In the budget, the finance minister proposed imposing the capital gain tax on individual investors if their profits cross Tk 50 lakh.
Market operators attributed the current volatile situation on the market to mounting economic worries, particularly the continued decline in the country鈥檚 foreign exchange reserves.
Over the past 16 weeks, the market had advanced in just three.
Furthermore, investors are withdrawing funds from the market before Eid-ul-Azha, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims, market operators said.
Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated in the country on June 17.
Of the 391 issues traded on the day, 26 advanced, 342 declined and 23 remained unchanged.
The DSE Shariah index decreased by 17.16 points, or 1.53 per cent, to close at 1,103.66 points on Monday.
The DS30 index lost 23.66 points or 1.28 per cent, to finish at 1,811.78 points.
On the sectoral front, pharmaceutical issues exerted the highest turnover, followed by the textile and food shares.
EBL Securities in its daily commentary said, 鈥業nvestors shied away from taking positions in equities that caused the majority of scrips to turn into falling knives and be stuck at the lower circuit without having sufficient buyers.鈥�
Orion Pharma topped the turnover chart on the day with its shares worth Tk 15.22 crore changing hands.
Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream, Central Pharmaceuticals, Asiatic Laboratories, Fortune Shoes, Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa, Rupali Life Insurance, Square Pharmaceuticals, Best Holdings and BRAC Bank were the other turnover leaders.