Stock market falls sharply amid worker unrest, DSEX drops 51 points

Ongoing worker unrest and instability in industrial areas have hit the country's stock market negatively. As anxiety and uncertainty about the future grew among investors, share prices fell sharply on Monday.

At both the main bourse, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), most companies' share prices fell and all the main indices dropped sharply. Heavy selling pressure also slowed overall turnover on the DSE. The textile sector was an exception amid the fall, with most companies there gaining in price.

Market analysts say days of worker unrest, vandalism and road blockades have made ordinary investors cautious over fears that production will be disrupted and exports hindered. In a market that depends on confidence and expectations about the future, an unstable environment quickly creates a negative reaction, which today took the form of intense selling pressure.

At the end of the day, among the companies traded on the DSE, only 86 gained in share and unit price, while 249 lost value and 51 remained unchanged. In the textile sector, 27 companies gained against 20 that fell, with 11 unchanged.

Among good or 'A' category companies, 27 gained but 155 fell. Among medium-quality companies, 33 rose against 30 that fell. In the non-dividend 'Z' group, 26 companies gained but 63 fell, and in the mutual fund sector 27 fell against only one that rose.

As most companies lost share value, the DSE's benchmark index, DSEX, lost 51 points from the previous trading day to close at 5,333 points. The DSE-30 index of top 30 companies fell 26 points to 2,042, and the Shariah-based DSES index fell 8 points to 1,037.

Alongside the falling indices, daily turnover on the DSE dropped to Tk 418 crore 22 lakh, which is Tk 64 crore 1 lakh less than the previous trading day's Tk 482 crore 19 lakh.

Speaking to the media about the market situation, DBA president Saiful Islam said the workers' movement has had a direct impact on the stock market. Such a large scale of labour unrest eight months into the current administration was unexpected, although the workers' demands are logical. The panic created among the public by such instability across the capital has affected investor psychology, he said.

He added that, alongside the movement, uncertainty over the country's overall economic situation and difficulties in withdrawing necessary money from the banking sector are forcing people to hold cash. Many are withdrawing investments from the market to arrange liquid money, creating extra selling pressure and accelerating the fall.

Evince Textile topped single-company turnover on the DSE that day, with shares worth Tk 14 crore 44 lakh traded. Matin Spinning was second with Tk 14 crore 29 lakh, and Phoenix Finance First Mutual Fund was third with Tk 11 crore 68 lakh. Others on the top turnover list included Envoy Textile, BRAC Bank, Prime Finance First Mutual Fund, Nahi Aluminium and Saiham Textile.

On the Chittagong Stock Exchange, among 182 companies traded, 76 gained but 87 fell. The CSE's overall index, CASPI, dropped 104 points, and total turnover fell to Tk 16 crore 22 lakh.