Stock investors are reluctant to trade amid uncertainty

Only 13 stocks rose on the Dhaka and Chittagong exchanges yesterday as investors worried about economic uncertainty stayed away from trading, forcing the stock exchanges to fall.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), fell 24 points, or 0.39%, to close at 6,190, its lowest level since August 14. Over the past two business days, the index has lost 75 points.

On the DSE, 72 stocks also fell while 219 saw no price movement.

Revenue, an important market indicator, fell nearly 17% to Tk 351 crore, the lowest in 17 weeks.

Analysts say investors fear stock prices may fall further given the current economic scenario, but that's not happening because of price floors.

"So investors aren't making new offers to buy stocks," one analyst said.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), fell 24 points, or 0.39%, to close at 6,190, its lowest level since August 14.

The floor price is the lowest price at which a stock can be traded. In July, the market regulator ordered it to halt the freefall in indices amid deepening global uncertainty.

Negative investor sentiment stemmed from lower corporate earnings in the first quarter as well as fears of a worsening macro picture in the coming months, brokerage firm International Leasing Securities Ltd said in its daily analysis. of the market.

Of the 300 DSE-listed companies with July-September quarter financial results available, 110 posted reduced profit, 38 slipped into losses for the first time while 30 companies' losses widened.

Investors are also concerned that the same performance could be repeated in the current quarter or beyond given that the factors responsible for the current global crisis and the stresses facing the Bangladesh economy, such as the Russian- Ukraine, the global energy shortage, rising commodity prices and rampant inflation, are still there.

In another unpromising development, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday raised the price of electricity at the wholesale level, the price paid by distributors to power generators, by 19.92%.

If the rise translates into a price adjustment, as usually happens, at the retail level, inflation, which is already at an all-time high, could accelerate further, dealing a further blow to consumers, who are faced with one of the worst production costs. crises experienced in recent decades. It will also mean lower sales for businesses and therefore lower profits.

The DS30, the index which consists of blue chip companies, fell nearly 3% to 2,177, while the DSES, the Shariah complaints index, fell 5.86% to 1,343. .

All sectors experienced a price correction, except for tanning, which increased by 0.4%, and textiles, which increased slightly by 0.1%.

The paper sector experienced the largest correction, falling 6.8%. The computer sector fell 5.9 percent and the jute sector lost 5.2 percent.

Chartered Life Insurance topped the list of winners, rising 9.98%. Bangladesh Welding Electrodes, Sonali Life Insurance, JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing and Sandhani Insurance were also among the top winners.

Aamra Networks suffered the worst fall, dropping 12%. Genex Infosys, Intraco Refueling Station, Bangladesh Monospool Paper Manufacturing and Bashundhara Paper Mills each fell more than 8%.

The Caspi, the Chittagong Stock Exchange's all-stock price index, fell 61 points, or 0.33%, to end the session at 18,382.

Of the 134 issues traded on the port city's stock exchange, 50 declined and 71 showed no change. Revenue, however, increased by nearly 38% to Tk 13.15 crore.