Stocks
Asian markets extend losses with Wall St as rate hopes dim
Asian markets fell Thursday, with traders tracking losses on Wall Street fuelled by concerns over rising Treasury yields and fading hopes for US interest rate cuts.
The losses in equities extended a more than week-long sell-off that came on the back of forecast-beating data and warnings from Federal Reserve officials that they were in no rush to lower borrowing costs.
A second straight day of weak demand in a Treasuries auction forced yields — a proxy for interest rates — to extend a recent advance.
Traders are now focusing on the release Friday of the crucial personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation, hoping for signs that prices are being brought under control enough to allow officials to ease monetary policy.
The central bank’s “Beige Book” survey of the world’s top economy suggested the outlook had become gloomier, with discretionary spending cooling and consumers more sensitive to costs in recent weeks.
It also said job gains were largely modest to negligible.
The report provided a little hope that the Fed’s tight policy stance was having some effect, though with inflation still stubbornly well above its two percent target, rate-cut hopes remain dimmed.
Still, Cantor Fitzgerald’s Eric Johnston said the latest spike in Treasury yields might not be entirely down to sticky prices.
“Bond yields may be moving higher mainly due to supply of bonds and the continued massive deficit — and not because of a concern around inflation or strong economy,” he said.
All three main indexes retreated in New York, with the Dow off more than one percent.
And Asia again followed the US lead.
Tokyo gave up more than one percent, while there were also losses in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta.
Sydney was in the red, with mining giant BHP giving back around 1.5 percent after giving up on its proposed $49-billion takeover of British rival Anglo American, which would have been one of the biggest in the industry and created a copper titan.
Hopes for a softening of the Fed’s monetary policy have been weighed by comments from a succession of decision-makers saying they wanted to see more data convincing them that inflation was on its way back to two percent.
The latest was Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic, who saw a cut potentially coming at the end of the year, though many of the indicators he closely watched were moving in the right direction.
“My outlook is that if things go according to what I expect — inflation goes slowly, the labour market slowly and orderly moves back into a sort of a weaker stance, but a stable-growth stance,” he told a conference.
“I’m looking at the end of the year, the fourth quarter, as the time where we might actually think about and be prepared to reduce rates.”
– Key figures around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.5 percent at 37,974.47 (break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 18,353.13
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,108.62
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.36 from 157.70 yen on Wednesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0797 from $1.0804
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2694 from $1.2702
Euro/pound: UP at 85.07 from 85.03 pence
West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $79.24 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $83.68 per barrel
New York – Dow: DOWN 1.1 percent at 38,441.54 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.9 percent at 8,183.70 (close)
Major General Mohammad Quamruzzaman (retd) has stepped down from his role as an independent director of the board of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, citing personal reasons.
He also served as a member of the DSE’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC).
Quamruzzaman was appointed to the DSE board on 1 September 2024, following the fall of the Awami League-led government. After serving for nearly one year and nine months, he submitted his resignation on Saturday (24 May).
Speaking to Quamruzzaman confirmed his resignation, saying, “Yes, I have resigned as an independent director for personal reasons.”
Md Shafiqur Rahman, Deputy General Manager of Public Relations and Publications at the DSE, said Quamruzzaman submitted a resignation letter mentioning personal reasons behind his decision.
“The DSE board will now take a decision regarding the resignation,” Shafiqur Rahman said.
He also indicated that Quamruzzaman may be planning to join another company, which could have influenced his decision to resign.
Earlier, another independent director of the DSE board, Shahnaz Sultana, also resigned from her position. She was likewise a member of the NRC.
According to the DSE annual report, Shahnaz Sultana is the CEO and Chief Consultant of FINS Alliance Risk Advisory and Consultancy and has served as the Founder and Chairperson of the WE Global Women Foundation since 2020.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has today approved appointment of Ms. Nuzhat Anwar as the new Managing Director of Dhaka Stock Exchange PLC. (DSE).
Ms. Nuzhat Anwar brings over two decades of experience in financial markets, banking, and development finance. Prior to her appointment, she worked at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, where she held multiple senior leadership roles across Africa and South Asia. Her positions included Resident Representative for Liberia and Sierra Leone, Senior Country Officer for Bangladesh covering Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal, and acting Cluster Manager during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent transition period.
Ms. Anwar also served as an IFC Country Officer in Botswana and Namibia, where she played a key role in establishing IFC’s presence in Gaborone and advancing a sustainable investment program, including IFC’s first investment in Botswana. She offers deep expertise in capital management, treasury and liquidity, transaction services, portfolio optimization, and market advocacy. Earlier in her career, she spent 16 years with Citibank Bangladesh and Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh in various senior management roles.
Ms. Anwar holds a Master’s degree in Commerce (Finance) from the University of Dhaka.
On her appointment as the Managing Director of DSE, the Chairman of the Board of DSE Mr. Mominul Islam said, “We are pleased to receive the approval of BSEC for appointment of Ms. Anwar as the new Managing Director. Over the last one year the NRC and Board of have worked hard to recruit a competent leader as the MD of DSE. We are confident that Ms. Anwar, with her excellent leadership trait, vast experience in the financial sector in home and abroad and deep passion for transformation in the Capital Market of the Country, is the right candidate to lead DSE in the days ahead. Now, we will complete the internal processes to onboard Ms. Anwar at soonest.”
Dhaka Stock Market DSE, Bourse on the second working day of the week, 30th September, ended with a negative performance in Indices and a hike in Turnover from the previous working session. This information is known from DSE sources.
503 crore 90 lakh taka shares were traded on this day. 22 crore 58 lakh more tradings were done in DSE today compared to the previous workday, 29th September, Shares worth Tk 481 crores 31 lakh shares were traded last time, Sunday.
The benchmark DSEX lost 33.61 points or 5,624 The Shariah-based index DSES dropped 7.36 point or 1,263 and the blue-chip index DS30 decreased by 9.57 points or 2,053.
Of the issues traded, 72 advanced, 299 declined and 25 remained unchanged.
Shahjibazar Power Company Limited ranked top gainer on DSE, the share price increased by Tk 4.00 paisa or 9.76 percent. On this day, the share was last traded at Tk 45.00 paisa.
Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited ranked top loser on the DSE, the share price dropped by Tk 1.80 paisa or 7.56 percent. On this day, the share was last traded at Tk 22.00 paisa.
DSE topped on trade is Pragati Life Insurance Limited 25 crore 35 lakh takas of company shares have been traded.
A total of 27 companies’ shares were traded in the Block on Dhaka Stock Exchange. A total of 1 crore 50 lakh 42 thousand 956 shares of the companies were traded. The financial value of which is 65 crore 60 lakh taka
