Stocks keep bleeding amid sluggish turnover

Stocks plummeted for the ninth straight week that ended on Thursday, while turnover continued its downtrend as edgy investors kept dumping financial shares.

The ongoing pessimism coupled with lower than expected dividend declaration by some banks dented the investors' confidence in the market, analysts said.

According to a leading broker, the low turnover reflected the absence of institutional support while small investors remained on the sidelines due to lack of market triggers.

He noted that investors are in search of good news and preferring to stay sidelines for the time being.

The investors mostly selling off shares of the food, banking and financial institution sectors as some banks declared lower than expected dividend.

The last week saw four trading days instead of regular five sessions as the market remained closed on Tuesday on the occasion of the Independence Day.

The market suffered losses in two sessions while two other sessions saw a marginal gain.

Week on week, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled 64.66 points or 1.16 per cent lower at 5,505.

The DSEX wiped out more than 444 points or 7.50 per cent in the past nine consecutive weeks.

EBL Securities said instability in the banking sector, rising non-performing loans, liquidity shortage coupled with soaring interest rates are weighing on investors' sentiment.

Two other indices also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 24.31 points to finish at 1968 and the DSE Shariah Index also lost 2.97 points to close at 1,281.

The aggregate turnover stood at Tk 14.46 billion last week as against Tk 17.204 billion in the previous week.

The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 3.61 billion, registering a decline of 16 per cent, compared to the previous week's average of Tk 4.30 billion.

The block trade contributed 1.50 per cent to the week's total turnover, where stocks like Indo-Bangla Pharma, Singer BD, Brac Bank and United Power dominated the block trade board.

According to International Leasing Securities, the shaky investors continued their selling spree, particularly on the banking and financial institution sectors.

Among the major sectors, food sector suffered most, shedding 3.01 per cent, followed by banking (2.77 per cent), pharmaceuticals (1.63 per cent), financial institutions (1.55 per cent) and engineering (0.83 per cent).

Only telecommunications and power sectors closed higher, gaining 2.72 per cent and 1.11 per cent respectively.

The market capitalisation of the DSE also fell 0.74 per cent to Tk 4,118 billion on Thursday, from Tk 4,147 billion in the week before.

Losers outnumbered the gainers, as out of 350 issues traded, 169 closed lower, 146 ended higher and 35 issues remained unchanged on the DSE floor.

The United Power dominated the turnover chart, with shares worth Tk 892 million changing hands. The company accounted for 6.22 per cent of the week's total turnover.

The other turnover leaders were BATBC, Singer Bangladesh, Monno Ceramic Industries and Grameenphone (GP).

Agrni Insurance was the week's best performer, posting a gain of 14.19 per cent while Singer Bangladesh was the worst loser, shedding 27.18 per cent following its price adjustment after the record date.

The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also ended lower, with its CSE All Share Price Index -- CASPI -- losing 227 points or 1.33 per cent to settle at 16,881 and the Selective Categories Index -- CSCX -- plunging 144 points or 1.38 per cent to finish at 10,226.