The investors went for panic sell-offs from the opening hour of trading as most of them lost confidence following a debate on the stock probe report, said experts.
Speculations over the report created panic among small investors as they complained that the government is deliberately wasting time before making the report public, said one of the experts.
"The institutional investors also faced a credit crunch due to the tight money market, while some of them adopted a wait-and-see policy fearing another crash impending," said Akter H Sannamat, a market analyst.
Sannamat, also the former managing director of Prime Finance and Investment, said: "The government should take a series of good initiatives to help the investors restore their lost confidence."
The aggrieved investors started coming out of the trading houses around 12:30am when the market declined by around 140 points.
They set fire to vehicle tyres, wood blocks and paper in front of the DSE building blocking the avenue from Shapla Chattar to Ittefaq crossing and vandalised a motor bike.
The agitating investors also chanted slogans against the finance minister, top bosses of the premier bourse and demanded the resignation of the SEC chairman.
Investors demanded that the government publish the probe report as soon as possible and take action against those who are responsible for January's stock debacle.
Traffic returned to normal at 1pm after law enforcers intervened.
The benchmark general index of DSE lost 212 points, or 3.5 percent, to close at 5,863 points. The DSE index had lost 116 points on the opening day of the week.
The selective categories of index of Chittagong Stock Exchange slumped 404 points, or 3.64 percent, to close at 10,557 points.
Jewel Ahmed, an agitating investor said: "Small investors will leave the market if the government does not take any initiative to protect them."
"The government's unclear moves made us confused."
Lankabangla Securities said in its daily market analysis: "Frustration, fear and anxiety over the pending outcome of the probe report took a heavy toll on the market. As the opening bell rang, the market witnessed the gauge shedding blood and the situation exacerbated as the session progressed. Nervousness gripped the investors who offloaded shares in speculation of further index fall and prolonged bearish trend."
Some people deliberately made huge sell-offs to bring back another debacle to defame the government, said an SEC official.
The state run Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) bought shares of Tk 28 crore to halt the slumping trend of the market, he added.
Of the total 251 issues traded on the DSE floor, 237 declined, 11 advanced and three remained unchanged.
The low confidence also left its impact on the day's turnover, which came down to Tk 613 crore, down by Tk 18.1 crore from that of the previous day. The bank sector lost 3.09 percent, reaching 27.2 percent of the total market capitalisation, while non-bank financial institutions lost 4.46 percent.
Source: The Daily Star
