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Stocks in tailspin

Star Business Report
Dhaka stocks slumped yesterday, hurt by a freefall of nearly all traded scrips.
Investor confidence about the possible recovery of the market ran low, as they were gripped by fears of a slowdown in bank and corporate earnings amid the global financial meltdown.
Analysts linked the losses to investor confidence that slumped a day after Finance Minister AMA Muhith vowed to prop up the securities and bond markets, in a statement which failed to spur investors.
“It appears investors have yet to regain confidence as it's not clear that what types of steps the government are going to take," said a senior official of a brokerage house, seekinganonymity.
The market started upbeat, but lost its tempo in half an hour, sending all the indices down at close.
The benchmark DSE General Index or DGEN plunged 36.42 points, or 1.38 percent, to 2598.049. The DSE All Shares Price Index or DSI lost 29.51 points, or 1.34 percent, to 2160.50. The blue-chip DSE-20 Index fell 21.66 points or 1.00 percent
to2131.88.
Almost all the sectors closed lower with shares of banks, pharmaceuticals and power companies topping the pack of losers.
"People want a clear message on whether to increase market capitalisation and investment incentives,” he said.
Stocks, which closed upbeat on the last trading day of the previous week, returned to a bear-run that lasted five weeks.
Rattled by a probable decline in earnings by the banks, institutional investors took a cautious approach. The investors fear the bank clients may fall behind in paying back the loans taken against imports, which may put
squeezes on the balance sheets of the banks.
"Our stock market was insulated from the shift away from emerging markets by global investors such as hedge funds rushing to cover losses and redemptions,” said Ifty Islam managing partner of Asian Tiger Capital Partners.
“However, in 2009, the risk is that the Bangladesh economy and exports will likely slow to a greater extent than in 2008, given that the global recession is gettingworse."
"Given this backdrop, some modest corrections in the stock market, as we have seen in the past few weeks, should not come as a major surprise," said Islam.