Stocks plummet amid concerns over political tension

Stocks plummeted on the first day of this week, extending the bearish trend for the third consecutive session, as investors feared a looming political tension arising from the recent US presidential election.

Today (10 November), the benchmark index DSEX of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell by 50 points or 0.94% to close at 5,265, while the blue-chip index DS30 ended 11 points lower at 1,953.

In the last three sessions, the DSEX lost 100 points, while the market cap dropped around Tk5,000 crore.

EBL Securities in its daily market review said the benchmark index of the capital bourse extended its losing streak for three consecutive sessions as investors preferred to realise their short-term gains and observe the market momentum amid the earnings declarations of the listed companies for the recently ended quarter.

The market opened the trading session with a tussle between buyers and sellers to grab the realm of the market momentum, it added.

EBL Securities further said sellers, however, started to dominate since the middle of the trading session, where the resurgence of political activities following the US election also worked as a negative catalyst for investors to liquidate their investments and drag the benchmark index to settle in the negative territory further.

Meanwhile, market turnover surged by 3% to Tk559 crore compared to the previous session.

Among the traded stocks, 292 declined, while 63 advanced and 39 remained unchanged.

Key stocks that contributed to the decline included Islami Bank Bangladesh, Beacon Pharmaceuticals and BRAC Bank. 

Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag topped the gainers' list, with its share price jumping by 9.60% to Tk155.2, followed by Shahjibazar Power and Legacy Footwear. Conversely, Premier Cement was the top loser, with its share price falling by 9.89% to Tk57.4 each, followed by Sonali Aansh and Orion Infusion.