Downbeat stock market sentiment continues

Lower than expected quarterly earnings results, which poured during the week, put damper on investor mood, analysts say. During the week, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange DSEX lost 56 points or 1.2% to end the week at 4,636, which is five-week low. The past week saw a faster fall in share prices compared to previous two weeks when the key index shed only nine points. The blue-chip index DS30 was up 3 points to 1,751. The DSE Shariah Index DSES shed 2 points to 1,109. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX moved down about 78 points or 1% to 8,675. The week’s average daily turnover crossed Tk600 crore, up more than 17% over previous week, backed by the block board that accounted for 2.3% of the trade value. Lanka Bangla Securities said sentiment went subdued in the last three days amid unpleasant dividend and earnings declarations. The list of turnover leaders was dominated by both small and high cap stocks. On the other hand, the lists of top gainers and top losers included mostly small cap stocks. Small cap IT sector topped the list of highest gaining sector of the week with 5.7% rise, followed by services &real estate 4.7%, cement 2.5% and fuel & power 1.9%. Non-banking financial institution sector, among large cap sectors, lost 5.3% due to continuous sell-off in Lanka Bangla Finance after its surprise announcement of new rights offer. It was followed by engineering 4.2%, food & allied 1.7%, pharmaceuticals 1.2%, banks 0.8% and power 0.5%. However, among the large cap sectors, telecommunication was the only gainers, with soaring over 3%. Doreen Power Generations and Systems was the week’s most traded stock, followed by Fortune Shoes, KDS Accessories, Mobil Jamuna Limited Bangladesh and IT Consultants.