Photo : Collected
The first working day after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in the student quota reform movement on Tuesday (August 6) saw a significant rise in the capital market. On this day, the share prices of 83 percent of companies on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the main capital market, increased. The main price index rose by nearly 200 points, and transactions exceeded 700 crore taka.
Similarly, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also experienced a positive trend, with a notable increase in the price index and trading activity. Shares and units of 107 companies on the DSE hit record highs, marking a sharp contrast to the recent market downturn.
When an unstable situation arose in the country around the quota reform movement, the capital market experienced a recession. This downturn had been ongoing for almost four months due to various issues, indicating that the final period of Sheikh Hasina's government did not favor capital market investors.
The unrest caused by the quota reform movement led to significant instability. General holidays were declared across the country, resulting in the closure of capital market trading for several days. Trading was supposed to remain closed even yesterday, according to prior announcements. However, faced with the unprecedented student movement, Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country on Monday, leading to a reopening of the markets.
After Sheikh Hasina's government fell, it was decided to reopen all public and private offices on Tuesday.
Consequently, trading in the capital market resumed at 10 am. At the start of trading, nearly all the participating institutions were listed on the price increase list, causing a significant rise in the index.
Initially, the DSE index surged by 250 points due to the increase in share and unit prices of most companies. However, the upward trend slowed down as the share prices of some companies began to fall. Despite this, the share and unit prices of 107 companies rose to their maximum allowable limit for a single day.
Throughout the trading hours, there were substantial buy orders for shares and units of these 107 companies at the day's highest prices, leading to an empty sell order book for these stocks. In addition to these 107 companies, many other companies also showed signs of increasing prices, indicating a broad positive sentiment in the market.
At the end of the trading day, shares and units of 328 companies, constituting 83 percent of the listed entities, saw price increases. In contrast, the prices of 60 companies declined, while 9 remained unchanged. As a result, the main DSE index, DSEX, increased by 197 points to 5,426 points. The DSE Shariah Index rose by 32 points to 1,176 points, and the DSE-30 index, comprising 30 selected companies, climbed by 75 points to 1,934 points.
Several DSE members have commented on the current market situation, highlighting recent irregularities. They noted that a group had siphoned off substantial sums of money from the capital market through manipulation, with no strict actions taken against them, leading to a loss of investor confidence and a market decline. The fall of Sheikh Hasina's government seems to have temporarily boosted market sentiment, but a single day's rise does not necessarily indicate a sustained upward trend. The coming days will be crucial for determining the market's direction.
Along with the rise in the index, the volume of transactions on DSE also increased. 749 Crore 99 Lakh Tk was transacted in the market throughout the day. 207 crore 83 lakh taka was traded on the previous working day. As a result, the transaction has increased by 542 crore 16 lakh taka. This was the highest transaction on DSE since July 10.
Shares of Trust Bank contributed the most in this transaction. The shares of the company have been traded worth Tk 483.5 million. The shares of Uttara Bank, which is in the second place, were traded for Tk 43 crore 71 lakh. Agni System is in the third place with a share transaction of Tk 23 crore 79 lakh.
Besides, the list of top ten companies in terms of transactions on DSE includes - Techno Drugs, Square Pharmaceuticals, Citibank, Unilever Consumer Care, British American Tobacco, Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Forest Knitting.
The other capital market CSE's overall price index CASPI increased by 467 points. 159 of the 222 institutions that participated in the market rose in price. In contrast, the prices of 52 decreased and 11 remained unchanged. 9 crores 29 lakhs have been transacted. 3 crore 33 lakhs were traded on the previous working day.
Messenger/Fameema
