DSE turnover hits fresh 9-month low

Turnover on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell to nearly nine-month low Monday as most of the investors were reluctant to take fresh exposure in the market ahead of national budget.
Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, came down to Tk 3.42 billion, registering a decline of 5.78 per cent over the previous day's Tk 3.63 billion.
It was also the lowest single-day transaction in nine months since September 18, last year when turnover totaled was Tk 3.15 billion on the prime bourse.
Market insiders said the upcoming national budget, ongoing Ramadan coupled with Finance Minister's latest stance to keep 15 per cent uniform value added tax (VAT), kept investors mostly inactive, bringing the turnover to fresh nine months low.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith Saturday backtracked on his position, saying the uniform VAT rate will remain unchanged at 15 per cent.
"The worried investors were busy to cash in on stocks to safeguard their position throughout the session while sale pressure from the issues from fuel & power, non-bank financial institutions and engineering sectors dragged down indices," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
Finance Minister will unveil the national budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2017-18 on June 1 (Thursday).
The market started with a downward trend which continued till end of the session with no sign of reversal, finally closed more than 12 points lower.
DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went down by 12.15 points or 0.22 per cent to close at nearly four months low at 5,356.58. It was the lowest level of DSEX since February 5, this year.
AT Capital Partners, an asset management company, said, "The market fell further, mainly driven by government's decision to uphold the present VAT rate".
The two other indices also closed lower. The DS30, comprising blue chips, fell 5.20 points or 0.26 per cent to close at 1989 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 3.31 points or 0.26 per cent to settle at 1248 points.
Textile sector emerged as turnover leader, capturing 21 per cent of the day's total transaction, followed by bank 12 per cent and engineering 11 per cent.
International Leasing Securities, a stockbroker, said, "The stock market continued its losing trend amidst profit booking sell offs from the shaky investors".
The stockbroker noted that prolonged bearish vibe in the market kept the investors apprehensive, which prompted them to go for selling offs with a view to avoid further losses on their portfolio.
"Selling of shares mostly from fuel and power, cement, textile and financial institution sectors contributed to the fall in indices," said the stockbroker.
IDLC Investments, a merchant bank, said, "Downtrend in the market continued, with decreasing activities and declining indices with 178 of the day's traded issues lost value, while only 94 gained".
The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also ended lower with its Selective Categories Index - CSCX - losing 38 points to settle at 10,049 points.
Losers beat gainers as 144 issues closed lower, 52 closed higher and 42 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 16.99 million shares and mutual fund units' worth over Tk 508 million in turnover.
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Source: The Financial Express


 

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