B Mirror Desk : After two decades, trading resumed in the capital market on Saturday. Despite this significant milestone, the market, which has been in a persistent decline, recorded its lowest trading volume. Although the price index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) rose on this first trading day of the week, the total trading amount in taka was the lowest seen in the past nine months or 40 weeks. A review of the DSE market indicated that the trading volume was at its lowest last year on August 4, when 2.0783 billion taka was traded. In contrast, today’s trading amounted to 2.6286 billion taka, marking the lowest level in 9 months and 13 days or 40 weeks.
The capital market has been struggling since the mass protests in July-August, leaving investors disheartened as there has been no significant improvement amidst the ongoing decline in the index. This situation has severely eroded confidence in the capital market, with indices and share prices dropping daily, leading to financial distress for ordinary investors. Consequently, investor losses continue to mount. On Saturday (May 17), the DSE’s main index, ‘DSEX’, rose by 39.44 points, bringing it to a current level of 4,820 points.
Additionally, the DSE’s other index, ‘DSES’, fell by 13.90 points to reach 1,052 points, while the ‘DS-30′ index dropped by 18.08 points to settle at 1,788 points. Today, trading on the DSE amounted to 262 crore 86 lakh 1 thousand taka, compared to 296 crore 84 lakh 40 thousand taka on the previous working day. A total of 396 companies’ shares and units were traded today. Among the participating institutions, 277 companies saw their prices rise, while 79 experienced a decline, and the prices of 40 companies remained stable.
Market participants believe that a significant portion of the shares currently being sold is due to forced sales linked to margin loans, which is intensifying market pressure and contributing to further price declines. Investors who have incurred losses are increasingly withdrawing from the market. This ongoing crisis in the capital market is impacting not only the indices and trading volumes but also eroding investor trust and confidence.
