Stocks slip for second day

Shares on the twin bourses declined for a second day as investors lost appetite for new shares amid fears of further instability in the stockmarket.

The benchmark General Index, DGEN of Dhaka Stock Exchange, the indicator of the premier bourse, closed at 6,017.96, after plummeting 59.36 points or 0.98 percent. DGEN lost 77.58 points in two days.

Some angry investors gathered in front of the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Motijheel to protest the market fall.

Institutional investors feared a further liquidity crisis in the stockmarket after the central bank tightened key policy interest rates, said an institutional investor.

Hossain Ahmed, a retail investor, said: “My portfolio is going to be empty as most shares have been declining for a month.”

“I will leave the market after recovering my investment,” said Ahmed.

Lack of active participation of investors pushed down the market, said Reaz Islam, chief executive officer of LR Global, an asset management company.

Some big institutional investors adopted wait-and-see policy, said Islam.

A total of 208 issues out of 253 that traded on the DSE declined, while 31 advanced. Fourteen issues remained unchanged.

Turnover on the DSE floor rose 17.7 percent to Tk 283 crore, compared to the previous day's value.

All major sectors went down: banks 1.03 percent, non-bank financial institutions 1.25 percent, telecoms 1.63 percent, pharmaceuticals 0.79 percent and power 0.84 percent.

Lafarge Surma Cement topped the turnover chart with 5.11 lakh shares worth Tk 33.68 crore changing hands as it was the most active share in the four-hour session.

Bd Autocars was the biggest gainer of the day as it posted a 4.16 percent rise. Monno Jutex was the worst loser, slumping 19.43 percent.

Source: Daily Star