Stocks fall sharply as DSE index sheds 103 points in a single day

Stock market indices fell by more than 100 points today amid an ongoing energy crisis impacting major listed companies.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), plunged 103 points, or 1.8 percent, to 5,558. The index has dropped around 5.7 percent, or 336 points, within just one month.

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Investor participation also fell. Total turnover, another key indicator of the exchange, fell 24 percent to Tk 545 crore at the DSE compared to Thursday.

Among the traded issues, 20 rose, 348 fell and 21 remained unchanged.

According to Aamarstock.com, a fall in British American Tobacco's share price contributed the most to the index's decline, dragging it down by six points, followed by Robi Axiata, Square Pharmaceuticals and Investment Corporation of Bangladesh.

These companies affect the index heavily because their paid-up capital is high, so any change in their share prices drags the index down, a stock market analyst said.

However, most stocks fell in the market today, reflecting a lack of investor confidence, he said, adding that when a large volume of buy or sell orders comes through the trading board, the stock exchange issues a notice to the broker -- a step that unsettles investors.

The exchange can only act if a buyer or seller breaches the rules; otherwise, issuing notices for every large-volume trade risks creating panic among investors, he added.

The trend was similar at the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), where the port city bourse's key index, CASPI, fell 171 points, or 1.1 percent today.