DSEX loses 124 points in 3 days

The Dhaka Stock Exchange's (DSE) main index DSEX lost 124.74 points in the last three days as risk-averse investors went for heavy sales.

Market capitalisation dropped 2.49% to Tk392,613 crore following the trend.

The investors continued putting selling pressure on most of the stocks, expecting a second wave of Covid-19 in the winter, analysts of several brokerage firms said.

Citing the World Bank's biannual regional update, they said Bangladesh's economy is projected to grow at 1.60% in the current fiscal year as the country struggles to cushion the impacts of Covid-19.

However, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam on Sunday asked four state-owned banks – Sonali, Rupali, Janata and Agrani – and the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh to invest more in the capital market.

But at the end of the trading session on Monday, DSEX fell 48.65 points to 4,809.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange's all share price index (CASPI) also continued to drop – losing 133 points to 13,747 – while the selective categories index CSCX shed 77 points to 8,259.

Turnover at the DSE, one of the key indicators of market performance, also fell 21% to Tk694.49 crore.

Also, DSE's blue-chip index DS30 lost 10 points to 1,637, and its Shariah index DSES fell 2.39 points to 1,096.

The insurance sector continued to rule the turnover list, with Eastland Insurance topping the chart – trading shares worth Tk23 crore – followed by Sandhani Life Insurance, and Beximco.

Of the 354 issues traded on Monday, the share price of 238 companies fell, 59 rose, and 60 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

Nearly all sectors saw a drop in market capitalisation. Namely, the insurance and mutual fund fell 9% and 7.17% at that time.

Also, the engineering sector saw a 5.10% drop in capitalisation with the share price of local manufacturing giant Walton facing a big fall.

And nine insurance companies were on the top ten loser list at the DSE with Sonar Bangla Insurance being the worst performer as it shed a 9.98% of its share price.

National Feed Mill was the day's best performer on the top gainers' list, posting a gain of 9.70%.

Insurance sector saw heavy fall on a rumour that the margin loan of insurance companies shares have been closed as per securities regulator direction. 

Some brokerage firms also stopped margin lending against insurance companies shares. But Bangladesh Securities Exchange and Commission (BSEC) did not issue any guidelines about margin loan facility on insurance companies.

Mohammad Rezaul Karim, executive director and spokesman for BSEC, said, "The commission has not taken any decision on stopping margin lending on insurance sector shares. However, a house can decide whether to give a margin or not. They may not pay the margin if they think it is risky."