Ahmed Shawki
Dhaka stocks went back into negative zone in the past week amid volatile trading marked by huge fluctuation in share prices as retail investors were confused about the fate of the government’s ‘bail-out fund’ for and long-standing stability of the market. The general index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, or DGEN, had lost 227.27 points, or
3.42 per cent, in the past week to close at 6,411.91 points after gaining 1,210.78 points the week before.
Before the previous week, the DGEN had shed 1,957.50 points as panic-stricken retail investors went for heavy sell-off in five weeks in one of the severe market debacles in the country.
In the past week’s topsy-turvy trading, the DGEN went up and then down on every alternate day.
‘Share trading on the DSE in the past week remained choppy as the DGEN had sharp fluctuations. The trend shows that the investors were still confused about the long-standing stability of the market and went for heavy-sell off whenever they got any amount of profit,’ an analyst said.
‘The news of uncertainty over the formation of Tk 5,000 crore Bangladesh Fund by 10 state-run financial institutions for investment in the money and capital market, the DSE’s president election and a host of news of liquidity crisis in banking sector contributed to the return of nervousness among the investors,’ he said.
He, however, observed that the rise in the turnover in the past week showed glimpses of a stable market.
Out of the total 160 issues traded, 101 advanced, 158 declined and 1 remained unchanged.
The average daily turnover in four trading days increased by 18 per cent to Tk 1,204.88 crore from Tk 1,017.56 crore in the previous week.
Trading on the DSE was closed on Thursday on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the Bangladesh’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The trading on the DSE began on Sunday in the negative zone with the DGEN plunging by 459.65 points, or 6.92 per cent, after a news of uncertainty over the Bangladesh Fund spread.
The stocks bounced back on Monday with the DGEN gaining by 278.45 points, or 4.50 per cent, following an announcement by the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh that there was no uncertainty about the fund and it would be formed in the shortest possible time.
The DGEN shed 139.83 points, or 2.16 per cent, on Tuesday because of profit-booking sell-off by big investors. Witnessing the declining curve of the index, some retail investors also went for panic-driven sell-off on the day.
Rumours among the investors once again marked the trading on Wednesday as the index gained 93.76 points, or 1.48 per cent.
Prices of all the 44 insurance issues gained heavily after a rumour had spread that a newly-elected DSE director,
who is also the managing director of an insurance company, would become the new president of the bourse.
The incumbent DSE president Shakil Rizvi, however, was re-elected at the DSE’s annual general meeting on Wednesday evening.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
