Photo : Collected
Investors incurred losses of Tk 5,183 crore on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Monday as stocks fell, with stakeholders saying the Iran-Israel conflict had negatively impacted Bangladesh's capital market.
There were worries among investors that the conflict would take a terrible turn and increase the prices of various products, including fuel. If fuel prices increase, it will have an adverse impact on the global economy, which would then affect the economy of Bangladesh, they said. The capital market reopened on Monday, which was the first working day after the Eid-ul-Fitr and Pahela Baishakh holidays.
Commenting on the market situation, Managing Director of Midway Securities Md Ashequr Rahman told The Daily Messenger there was a sharp decline in stock prices due to the Iran-Israel conflict. He said oil prices were increasing in the global market and there were fears that it would rise even more because of the new conflict.
“Moreover, banks and non-bank financial institutions are now collecting deposits at 11.5 per cent interest rate. Because of this, investors are selling stocks,” added Ashequr.
Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association former president Sayadur Rahman told The Daily Messenger the market saw a low presence of investors after the holiday on Monday while the war in the Middle East, including the fresh Iran-Israel conflict, created negative impacts as well.
Earlier, the Ukraine-Russia war and the Sri Lankan economic crisis also adversely affected the Bangladeshi market, he noted. “However, there was no such impact on the market in the neighbouring countries of India and Pakistan.”
Sayadur further said investors should not pay heed to rumours and invest wisely.
The DSE data shows the index fell when trading started on Monday, which continued till the end of the day. The share prices of 32 companies rose against the fall in that of 336 firms. The prices of shares of 27 companies remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
As a result, market capitalisation of investors decreased by Tk 5,183.33 crore. Investors’ capital at the beginning of the day was Tk 6,84,734.93 crore, which went down to Tk 6,79,551.6 crore when trading closed at the end of the day.
DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went down by 85.32 points or 1.45 per cent to 5,778.77. The two other indices also ended sharply lower with the DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, plunging 17.48 points to finish at 2,014.89 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) losing 16.28 points to close at 1,266.02. FUWANGFOOD topped the turnover chart, followed by MALEKSPIN, KARNAPHULI, LOVELLO and SP Ceramics.
Concerns over how long the Iran-Israel conflict would last led to a sale frenzy at the beginning of the day. There were almost no purchases against the sales of stocks.
As a result, turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, decreased to Tk 3,675.33 million, which was Tk 4,438.42 million in the previous session of the week.
Meanwhile, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended sharply lower with the CSE All Share Price Index, CASPI, losing 189.38 points to settle at 16,543.78 and the Selective Categories Index, CSCX, shedding 114.03 points to close at 9,945.30.
Of the issues traded, 135 declined, 30 advanced, and 14 remained unchanged on the CSE. The port city bourse traded 22.88 lakh shares and mutual fund units with a turnover of about Tk 8.79 crore.
Messenger/Fameema
