Stocks rebound on dialogue prospects
Stocks rebounded yesterday on the back of positive development on the political front and the premier bourse's disbursement of funds obtained from the 25 percent stake sell-off to the Chinese consortium.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, rose 52.56 points, or 1 percent, to close the day at 5,299.07 points.
The Dhaka bourse yesterday handed over the first three cheques among the brokers as part of its plan to distribute a total of Tk 947 crore out of the Tk 962 crore that it received after selling 25 percent stakes to the consortium of Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The news of a proposed dialogue between the ruling Awami League and the new political alliance Jatiya Oikyafront tomorrow came as a relief for investors, who believe the talk would create a peaceful environment ahead of the national election, industry insiders said.
Stocks of most of the well-performing companies had fallen to their lowest level because of the fear of a political unrest ahead of the national polls, a top official of a brokerage house said requesting anonymity.
“Investors could not decide whether they will invest or wait further although there has been no chaos.”
Now, investors got the signal they were waiting for, he said.
“If the dialogue produces a fruitful result, the market will definitely see a positive impact,” he added.
Meanwhile, Golden Harvest Argo Industries said its board has decided to issue rights shares for each of the existing ones at Tk 10 a share, according to a notice published on the DSE website.
The rights issue is an offer of new shares by a company to its existing shareholders, usually at a discounted rate, in proportion to the shares they already own.
The raised fund would be used to expand production, improve distribution channels and clear loans, the food maker said.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, climbed 24.77 percent from the previous day to Tk 552.49 crore.
Khulna Power was the top traded stock with its transaction of 39.08 lakh shares worth Tk 48.84 crore. It was followed by Shahjalal Islami Bank, Summit Power, Pharma Aids and Advent Pharma.
SK Trims & Industries was the day's best performer with a 10 percent gain, while Standard Ceramic was the biggest loser, shedding 7.46 percent.
Gainers outnumbered losers by 231 to 73, while 34 securities remained unchanged.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also witnessed a big rise as its key index advanced 109.80 points to finish at 9,839.25 points.
The port city bourse traded 1.06 lakh shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 30.19 crore.
