Stock markets reopen after ending last week with heavy losses

The stock market closed on a depressing note last week after posting five consecutive sessions of losses.

The benchmark index DSEX, of the Dhaka bourse, lost 262 points over the week and closed it at 4,197 points on Thursday. 

CASPI, the key index of the port city of Chattogram's bourse, declined by 775.5 points to close at 12,769 points. 

All sectors, except cement, displayed negative movements during the week, with banks sliding 5.5 percent, financial institutions sliding 8 percent and telecommunications sliding 11.3 percent – among the large-cap sectors. Cement registered a moderate gain of 2.3 percent. 

The decision to implement a single-digit interest rate from April 1 has led the decline in banking scrips, said the Weekly Market Review of EBL Securities Ltd. 

A rise in non-performing loans forced investors to tackle a financial stocks confidence crisis. Many expressed worries over the single-digit lending rate eroding the profitability of the banks in the near future. 

The ongoing regulatory scuffle between Grameenphone and the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has triggered the worries of investors in telecom stocks in an already diminishing market, the report added. 

The Lafarge Holcim Bangladesh Ltd stock was the most-traded of the week with a closing price of Tk40.5 per share, exhibiting a weekly gain of 10.4 percent. The stock's turnover value was Tk91 crore. 

Emerald Oil Industries Ltd topped the weekly gainers' table advancing 29.1 percent, closing at Tk17.3 per share; while Sinobangla Industries Ltd was the week's greatest loser, giving up 19.5 percent of its price, closing at Tk66.7 per share. 

ADN Telecom Ltd, an IT and telecommunication service provider, made its debut on the secondary capital market on Monday. The stock registered a gain of 50 percent – from its issue price of Tk27 per share – for general investors on its first day of trading. 

The company is the 10th stock to be listed in the IT sector on the DSE. On Thursday, ADN Telecom Ltd advanced by 5.9 percent from the previous day to close the week at Tk46.8 per share.