DSEX plunges to 19-week low
The number of empty investment accounts rose 10% in a week
The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, nosedived in the opening session of the year-end week, beating the optimism for at least a temporary hike in stock prices which investors usually witness in most of the year-ends.
The index fell 1.1% on Sunday to close at 6,629 which is the lowest since 12 August. The previous low mark was 6,700 points.
Amid the gloomy market outlook after a sharp rise over 15 months up to mid-October, many investors preferred going sideline, while an apparent reluctance of buyers in trade accelerated the imbalance between demand and supply, market observers at different investment firms said.
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According to the Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd (CDBL), more than 45,000 investment accounts went empty in the last week as the beneficiary owners preferred no exposure in stocks amid the fear of capital erosion. Thus, the number of empty investment accounts increased to 4.69 lakh on Thursday from 4.24 lakh a week earlier.
At the same time, the number of the beneficiary owner (BO) accounts holding shares or other securities dropped to 14.47 lakh on Thursday from 14.91 lakh in the previous week.
Although the DSEX moved in a zigzag way in the last few months, the downturn prolonged since the second week of December.
"As the economy has shifted from the recovery to the growth phase, investors' fund flow also shifted from the capital market to other productive sectors, resulting in an intense volatility in the market," EBL Securities wrote to their clients in the daily market commentary to explain the market situation.
However, intensified sell pressure drove the daily turnover in the DSE 10.46% higher to Tk885 crore on Sunday.
"Sunday's market scared us, as no sector advanced and the indices broke below their recent lows," said Farid Ahmed, a trader at Motijheel. It was apparent that no quarter was creating sufficient demand against the increased selling pressure, he added.
Jute, service and real estate, ceramic sectors topped the sectoral list of market capitalisation contraction on Sunday.
