Staff Correspondent: The country's stock market continues to grapple with a sweeping downturn, as share prices plummet and turnover dips below Tk 300 crore-a new low over the past nine trading days. On Wednesday (14 May), both the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chattogram Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed a sharp decline in most share and unit prices, dragging down all major indices and underscoring the ongoing crisis of investor confidence.
The DSE opened with a slump in the majority of listed securities, pushing the benchmark index into negative territory from the outset. Although the index made a brief upward move mid-session, this rebound lasted barely half an hour before renewed selling pressure pulled prices down further. Investor sentiment remained low throughout the day, with many opting to offload shares even at a loss, only to find few willing buyers.
By the end of trading, just 61 companies saw gains, while a staggering 292 faced losses. Prices of 46 securities remained unchanged. Among fundamentally strong companies offering dividends of 10% or more, 39 registered gains, while 153 saw declines and 26 remained static. In the mid-tier category-those offering less than 10% dividends-only 8 gained compared to 70 that lost value. Five remained unchanged.
Even in the 'Z' category-typically consisting of companies that do not offer dividends and are considered less reliable-14 saw modest gains, but 68 declined, and 15 stayed the same. Of the 36 listed mutual funds, only three rose in value, 21 dropped, and 12 remained flat.
The DSEX, the DSE's broad-based index, fell by 38 points to 4,835. The Shariah index dropped by 10 points to settle at 1,053, while the blue-chip DS30 index dipped 7 points to 1,791.
Turnover on the DSE stood at just Tk 294.17 crore, down from Tk 343.93 crore the previous day-a drop of nearly Tk 50 crore. This marks the lowest daily turnover since 29 April. The top contributor to turnover was Beach Hatchery, with shares worth Tk 15.74 crore changing hands. It was followed by NRB Bank (Tk 11.93 crore) and Magura Multipurpose (Tk 10.91 crore).
Other names on the top turnover list included BRAC Bank, Baraka Patenga Power, AB Bank First Mutual Fund, City Bank, Fine Foods, Wimax Electrode, and Bangladesh Shipping Corporation.
Meanwhile, the Chattogram Stock Exchange also mirrored the downtrend. Its CASPI index fell by 71 points. Of the 196 companies traded, only 44 advanced while 127 declined and 25 remained unchanged. Total turnover reached Tk 11.22 crore, up from Tk 7.67 crore in the previous session.
As investors continue to grapple with market uncertainty, the lack of buyers and persistent selling pressure signal that the turbulence may not ease anytime soon.