DSE stock exchanges are recovering after sharp declines

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) indexes rose yesterday after massive declines in the previous three days, following protests by some investors in the capital’s Motijheel, who blamed some of the recent punitive measures taken by the regulator.

Last Tuesday, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) imposed a fine of Tk 428.52 crore on five companies and four individuals for manipulating Beximco share prices to make profits of Tk 477 crore.

On September 26, it downgraded 28 companies to the “Z” category for violating regulations by improperly paying dividends to investors.

This causes a massive sell-off of shares, which in turn causes indexes to fall, protesters said yesterday. They also demanded the resignation of senior BSEC officials.

DSEX, the DSE’s benchmark index, rose 8.59 points or 0.16 percent from the previous day’s close at 5,462.

Similarly, the DSES index, which represents Sharia-compliant companies, rose 1.56 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,221.

Meanwhile, the DS30, an index of blue-chip companies, rose 2.83 points, or 0.14 percent, to 1,990.

However, on the Chittagong Stock Exchange, CASPI, the main index of the port city’s bourse, fell 19.26 points, or 0.13 percent, to 15,271.

Of the issues traded on the DSE, prices of 209 increased, 138 decreased and the rest saw no price movement.

The daily turnover, which indicates the total value of shares traded, was Tk 315 crore, down 28.42%.

The banking sector dominated the turnover chart, accounting for 26.05 percent. whole.

Block trades, or large-volume transactions in securities negotiated privately and executed outside the open market, contributed another 2.6%.

The most traded stock was IBN Sina Pharmaceutical with a turnover of Tk 15.2 crore.

According to daily market updates published by UCB Stock Brokerage, by sector, the three sectors that performed positively were jute, services, real estate and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs).

Investment funds, telecommunications and life insurance were among the three sectors that closed in negative territory.

According to daily market updates published by BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage, most of the sectors that account for large market capitalization values, which refers to the value of a company’s issued shares, turned positive.

The NBFI sector saw the highest growth of 1.02 per cent, followed by engineering (0.94 per cent), pharmaceuticals (0.47 per cent), fuels and energy (0.17 per cent) and banking (0.06 per cent).

However, food and related products recorded a loss of 0.02% and telecommunications another 0.66%.

Companies such as Beximco Pharmaceuticals, National Bank, Renata, Orion Pharma, BRAC Bank, Olympic Industries, Prime Bank, Orion Infusion, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh and Bangladesh Shipping Corporation attracted investors the most, financial portal LankaBangla said in its daily market update.

However, none of the companies recorded a double-digit increase in share prices. Among them, Beximco Pharmaceuticals recorded the highest gain of 3.06 percent.

Islami Bank Bangladesh, Grameenphone, Trust Bank, Beacon Pharmaceuticals, Eastern Bank, City Bank, GPH Ispat, JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing, Square Pharmaceuticals and United Commercial Bank suffered losses.

A senior brokerage official said that when the market is volatile, it is normal for investors to adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach.

However, market analysts said that BSEC took all decisions in accordance with rules and regulations.