Bangladesh's stock market saw a resurgence this week as investor confidence was buoyed by robust corporate earnings and positive regulatory interventions aimed at stabilising the market.  The benchmark index managed to recover from a prolonged bearish phase, spurred by improved earnings, dividend announcements, and supportive discussions around liquidity measures. The market began the week in a cautious mode, with prevailing bearish sentiment driving the benchmark index below the key 5,000-point mark.  However, as earnings and dividend declarations surpassed investor expectations, and with ongoing discussions around liquidity support from the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) alongside potential reductions in capital gains tax, confidence quickly rebounded. The DSEX, the primary index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, rose by 84.81 points or 1.7%, settling at 5,199 points. Investor activity grew by 23%, with turnover reaching Tk416.7 crore, compared to Tk338.7 crore in the previous week. Banking, pharmaceuticals, and textiles emerged as the top sectors, representing 19.2%, 16.6%, and 10.8% of market activity, respectively. Notably, the Mutual Fund sector registered the highest gains with a 10.1% rise, while the banking sector was the only one to post minor losses at 0.5%. Stock market slumps as DSEX hits 3-month low, most companies see price drops In parallel, the DS30 index, representing 30 major companies, climbed 47 points to close at 1,926. Meanwhile, the DSES index, which tracks Shariah-compliant stocks, saw a slight decline of 0.89 points, ending at 1,145. Market turnover, a critical indicator of investor participation, rose to Tk2,883 crore over the week, a significant increase from the Tk1,693 crore recorded the previous week.  The daily turnover average reached Tk416 crore, a 23% rise from last week’s average of Tk338 crore. Recent regulatory efforts, including the formation of an investigative panel to analyse the causes behind the recent market downturn, were instrumental in helping to restore investor trust. Additionally, a meeting between Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, the Finance and Commerce Adviser, and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has brought assurances of short-, medium-, and long-term measures to address market volatility. The market rebound was largely driven by the recovery of fundamentally strong stocks, which had reached attractive valuations following recent corrections. Regulatory steps are anticipated to further stabilise the market, as reflected in the gains of a significant portion of listed companies.

Stocks in Dhaka saw a sharp decline last week, with the DSEX falling below 5,300 for the first time in three months as anxious investors sold off to prevent further portfolio losses. The market remained dominated by sellers throughout the week, extending its losing streak for the fourth consecutive week. The market started the week in free fall, hitting session lows across all four days as retail investors, in particular, engaged in panic selling. The main index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), DSEX, finally settled at 5,258, down over 164 points or 3.03 percent from the previous week. The DSEX has lost 476 points in the last four weeks. Read more: Small investors’ woes in stock market not over yet Investors concerned continued to shed their holdings after noting that heavy-weight issues, including mutational companies, continued to fall in the past few weeks, putting further pressure on indices. Investors preferred to trim their equity exposures and adopted a wait-and-see approach amid uncertainties surrounding earnings declarations for June-ending companies. Macroeconomic and regulatory uncertainties also acted as negative catalysts that ignited the selling spree, allowing the bears to retain control for a prolonged period. DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, lost 164.1 points, or 3.0 percent, to settle at 5,258 points. Investors' participation in the market continued to fall by 13.3 percent to TK 3,180 million as compared to TK 3,667 million in the previous week.  Read more: BSEC Chairman urges stakeholder cooperation for stock market reforms Investors were primarily active in the banking sector (20.4%), followed by the pharmaceutical sector (16.5%) and the IT sector (11.3%). Sectors closed in the red, with the services sector (-8.8%) experiencing the largest decline. Five large-cap stocks such Islami Bank, Brac Bank, British American Tobacco, Renata and Beacon Pharma together accounted for one-fourth of the index's decline during the week, according to EBL Securities. This week, Tk 52 billion was wiped out from the market capitalization of the DSE, which now stands at Tk 6,691 billion. Over the past four consecutive weeks, the market capitalisation has declined by a total of Tk 242 billion. The market capitalisation is calculated by multiplying a company’s total number of outstanding shares by its current market price. Read more: Share Market Investment Guide: How to Invest in Stocks in Bangladesh The blue-chip DS30 index, a group of 30 prominent companies, also lost 54 points to close at 1,930 while the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, shed 32 points to 1,174.