Stock keep falling amid wait for earnings disclosures

Stock market indexes in Bangladesh extended its losing streak for the second consecutive day yesterday as cautious investors opted to wait for corporate earnings disclosures before making significant trades.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 30.17 points, or 0.53 percent from the previous day before closing at 5,681.60, marking a decline for a second successive day.

Similarly, the DSES, the index that represents the Shariah-based companies, edged down by 8.49 points, or 0.68 percent, to 1,238.19, while the DS30 index for the blue-chip firms, dropped 16.91 points, or 0.81 percent, to 2,068.61.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange witnessed a similar falling trend as the CASPI, the broad index of the port city bourse, slipped by 41.66 points, or 0. 26 percent to finish at 16,077.06.

In terms of trading activity at the DSE, prices of 156 stocks increased, while 182 closed lower, and 63 remained unchanged.

The day's turnover, which refers to the total value of shares traded in the trading session, dropped by 5.08 percent, totaling Tk 634.9 crore.

Among individual stocks, Sonali Aansh Industries Limited emerged as the most traded share of the day, with a turnover of Tk 21.9 crore.

Additionally, block trades, referring to large-volume securities transactions negotiated and executed privately, made up 3 percent of the day's total market turnover.

In terms of sector performance, most sectors with significant market capitalisation registered negative results with the engineering sector suffering the largest loss, declining by 1.23 percent.

The pharmaceuticals sector dropped by 1.09 percent, followed by telecommunication with a decline of 0.77 percent, banks by 0.67 percent, the food and allied by 0.52 percent, and the fuel and power sector by 0.18 percent.

However, the non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) is the only sector that managed to post a gain of 2.11 percent.

Shares of the companies like Saif Powertec, Islami Bank Bangladesh, Best Holdings, Pragati Life Insurance, Square Pharmaceuticals, Confidence Cement, Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Spa, Bangladesh Thai Aluminium, Fortune Shoes and DBH Finance drew investors the most, according to LankaBangla Finance Portal.

However, none of the companies saw a double-digit growth in share prices. Of them, Saif Powertec logged the largest gain of 1.46 percent, closely followed by Islami Bank Bangladesh, which recorded a gain of 1.42 percent.

Beacon Pharmaceuticals, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, BRAC Bank, Olympic Industries, Renata, Grameenphone, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, ACME Laboratories, Orion Infusion and Prime Bank displayed a lacklustre performance.

Despite the overall market decline, investors remain optimistic as the government's ongoing reforms could bring long-term stability and growth to the capital market.

However, many are holding off on significant investments until corporate earnings reports are released, which will provide more clarity on the financial health of listed companies.