Stocks break losing streak
Dhaka stocks yesterday bounced back on falling for four consecutive days after some institutional investors acted in keeping with the request of the regulator.
Market insiders say the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) requested institutional investors to pour money into the market as well as to refrain from sell-offs to pull the index up.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), gained 64.78 points, or 1.23 percent, to close the day at 5,326.39. The index had lost 198.31 points from Sunday to Wednesday.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, however, remained low because of a cautious stance of institutional and individual investors and stood at Tk 284.18 crore, up 3.4 percent from the previous day.
The top official of a merchant bank says such a high jump in the index with the lower turnover proves that it was an artificial rise.
He says the stockmarket regulator should take initiatives on gambling and bringing good stocks to the market in order to bolster investors' confidence.
Yesterday, the regulator formed a three-member committee, asking it to recommend steps about some junk stocks that have remained in the category for more than a year.
Monno Ceramics dominated the turnover chart with 5.86 lakh shares worth Tk 19.66 crore changing hands, followed by Fortune Shoes, United Power Generation, Bangladesh Submarine Cables, and Esquire Knit.
ML Dyeing topped the gainers' list rising 9.96 percent to Tk 33.1. Reckitt Benckiser was the worst performer shedding 3.69 percent.
Among the major sectors, telecommunications rose 2.9 percent and life insurance gained 1.8 percent. The cement sector declined 0.1 percent.
Chittagong stocks also rose with the bourse's benchmark index, the CSCX, increasing 93.83 points, or 0.95 percent, to finish the day at 9,873.58.
Rising issues outnumbered falling ones as 155 securities advanced and 48 declined while 26 finished unchanged on Chittagong Stock Exchange.
The port city bourse traded 40.16 lakh shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 11.77 crore.
