Dhaka stocks slide on weak investor confidence

Equities on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) closed lower last week as investors remained cautious during the ongoing earnings season, with sentiment further dampened by a tax hike on securities income.

The benchmark DSEX index shed 132.07 points, or 2.44 percent, to finish at 5,283.72, while the DS30, which tracks blue-chip stocks, and the DSES, comprising Shariah-compliant companies, also declined, according to DSE data.

The sell-off was driven by uncertainty over earnings and dividend declarations of June-closing companies, alongside the government's decision to raise the source tax on income from government and other securities to 15 percent from 10 percent, said brokerage house EBL Securities in its weekly review.

Turnover, however, surged to Tk 3,285.63 crore, up from Tk 1,860.32 crore a week earlier, partly due to the shortened trading week caused by the Durga Puja holidays.

"Notable buying interest was witnessed in general insurance stocks, buoyed by optimism over potential business expansion prospects following the central bank's recent directive allowing the export of goods on open account credit terms against coverage from domestic insurance companies," EBL Securities said.

The general insurance sector accounted for the highest investor activity at 11.8 percent of turnover, followed by pharmaceuticals at 10 percent and textiles at 9.7 percent, while travel dropped 7 percent to become the week's worst performer.

Market breadth was negative, with 298 issues declining, 79 advancing, and 19 remaining unchanged.