Dhaka stocks fell by 4.15 percent yesterday as investors reacted to the news of the World Bank withdrawing its loans for the Padma bridge project.

The benchmark General Index, DGEN, market tracking index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, fell by 190.13 points to close the day at 4,382.74 points.

The World Bank's decision has come as a shock to the investors, LankaBangla Securities said in its analysis.

The Padma bridge, intended to connect the southern region to the capital, was the largest ever infrastructure project for Bangladesh.

Investors offloaded all categories of shares, including the financial sectors', fearing slowdown of economic activity and tighter money market condition, LankaBangla said.

“The cancellation of credit for the Padma bridge further deteriorated the market sentiment,” IDLC Investments said in its market commentary.

The Asian Development Bank, a co-financer of the mega project, said it would be unable to release funds for the project due to the joint nature of co-financing.

Turnover on the DSE floor slumped by 25.57 percent to Tk 223 crore.

A total of 1.03 lakh trades were executed, with 4.51 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands at the Dhaka bourse.

The Selective Categories Index, CSEX, the indicator of Chittagong Stock Exchange closed the day at 8434 points, after falling 291 points or 3.3 percent.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 3rd July 2012