DSE turnover drops 24% amid low investor participation

Turnover – one of the major indicators of the capital market – at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell by 24% to Tk1,328.49 crore on Monday from that registered in the previous session, as investors' participation declined amid fears over the forthcoming nationwide strict lockdown.

This is also the lowest turnover in the last one and half months.

However, DSEX – key index of the DSE – rose by 0.56% to reach 6,026 points on Monday, after a massive fall on the previous day. The blue chip index also grew by 0.36% to close at 2,176 points.

At the end of the Monday trading session on the DSE, 231 companies' share prices increased, while 108 saw declines and 33 remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, the port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange's main index Caspi gained 79 points to reach 17,439 on Monday.

EBL Securities in its daily market review said the market observed mixed trading activities while many participants engaged in portfolio rebalancing due to favourable price levels in selective sectors.

"The uprising pandemic cases in the country have made investors observant of the bourse. As a result, participation observed a considerable decrease on the bourse."

On the sectoral front, textile contributed 22.84% of the total turnover at the DSE, followed by life insurance 13.85%, and bank 10.07%.

Delta Life Insurance topped the turnover leaders' list with 10.7% participation of the total turnover. The other market movers were Fortune Shoe and Beximco Limited, as investors show the most interest in those shares at the DSE.

Following the upward trend, share prices of life insurance companies increased and investors got returns from those shares.

Following the price hike, three life insurance companies – Delta Life, Rupali Life and Progressive Life Insurance secured positions among the top ten gainers' list on the DSE, while Sonali Paper shares saw the highest price hike.

The textile sector lost 1.4% prices as investors were selling those shares to book capital gain, pushing eight textile companies into the top ten losers' list on the DSE. Safko Spinning shares lost the most on Monday.