A renewed wave of insecurity amid political unrest, tighter margin rules and a rebound in treasury yields triggered a sharp sell-off on Thursday, dragging the DSEX down by 2.54% to 4,702.69, the lowest since late June.
The fall wiped out 90% of the gains the market accumulated during the June–September rally.
The benchmark had climbed to 5,670 in the first week of September as treasury yields dropped sharply. In three months till mid-October, Bangladesh Bank injected more than Tk25,000 crore into the money market by purchasing over a billion dollars from banks, pulling yields on both short and long-term government securities down to single digits in October from above 12% in June.
The trend reversed after the central bank stopped buying dollars in mid-October. With inflation stuck above 8% and the policy rate unchanged at 10%, treasury yields climbed back above 10%, weakening investor appetite for equities.
Stockbrokers said investors were preparing for fresh positions until the newly announced margin rules fuelled fears of forced selling.
Analysts had expected interest rates to fall further in the coming months, supported by strong remittance inflows and moderate export earnings, signalling a gradual macroeconomic turnaround.
Market anxiety intensified on Thursday after new mutual fund rules made liquidation or conversion mandatory for all closed-end mutual funds, raising concerns that several funds could be forced to liquidate assets through share selling.
The fear-driven selloff swept across the Dhaka Stock Exchange. The blue-chip DS30 index slumped 2.51% to 1,851, while the Shariah index DSES dropped 2.88% to 976.95.
Only 15 scrips advanced, while 352 stocks, mutual funds and corporate bonds declined.
Turnover jumped to Tk383 crore, up from Tk290 crore in the previous session, as panic-driven selling intensified.
Following Thursday’s fall, the DSEX closed the week with a 5.34% decline, extending its year-to-date loss to 9.8%.
The DSES is now down 16.4%, while the DS30 has shed 4.6% in 2025 to date.
Summit Alliance Port, Square Pharma, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Anwar Galvanizing, Robi Axiata, Simtex Industries, Shahjibazar Power, Lovello, Monospool BD and City Bank were the day’s turnover leaders.
Al-Arafah Islami Bank, Phoenix Finance First Mutual Fund, Shahjibazar Power, Central Insurance, Takaful Insurance, Prime Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, City Insurance, Rahim Textile and Walton Hi-Tech were the top gainers.
Miracle Industries, Prime Textile, Pragati Life Insurance, Lovello, Sonar Bangla Insurance, Asiatic Laboratories, Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag, Esquire Knit, Pragati Insurance and Daffodil Computers were the top losers.
