Dhaka stocks surged on Sunday as the investors went on a buying spree when the turnover crossed Tk 1,100 crore mark after five months.
DGEN, the benchmark general index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, gained 3.02 per cent or 135.21 points, to close the day at 4,565.72 points.
It was the highest rise of the DGEN since 28 June when the index was standing at 4,572.87 points.
The turnover of the bourse increased to Tk 1,136.34 crore on Sunday from Tk 886.04 crore in the previous session.
Sunday’s turnover was the highest since 15 April when the DSE’s turnover was Tk 1,201.85 crore.
The DGEN gained 106.75 points last week with an average daily turnover of Tk 813.23 crore.
A prolonged downtrend had pushed the turnover to as low as Tk 115.70 crore on 9 July which was the lowest since 17 December, 2008 when the turnover was Tk 109.03 crore.
The turnover of the bourse swelled to over Tk 3,200 crore on 5 December, 2010 before the market crashed in 2011.
Market operators said that both retail and institutional investors went on a buying spree on the day as the DGEN crossed the 4,500 point psychological benchmark in the opening hour.
They also said the rise of the prices of banks’ shares, the largest market capitalisation sector, was one of the key factors for such a sharp rise of the index on the day.
‘The healthy turnover is a very optimistic sign for the investors and the sharp rise of the index was due to some movement in the large capital-based sector like banks,’ Union Capital’s managing director Aktar H Sannamat told New Age.
He said that the worrisome thing is that the prices of the shares of some low paid-up and fundamentally weak companies also rose on the day.
‘Our market is comparatively shallow. When it is on a gaining streak the few good scrip certificates get overvalued and investors hardly have any other choice but to enter weak fundamental shares,’ he said.
Sannamat said that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the DSE should strengthen their monitoring of such situations.
‘Also, they can offer extensive awareness programmes for the investors,’ he said.
Banking, which is among the major sectors, gained sharply by 7.28 per cent on Sunday when 20 banks (out of 30) gained more than 8 per cent each.
Non-bank financial institutions gained 2.53 per cent, telecommunication 1.61 per cent and pharmaceuticals 1.90 per cent while power and cement gained less than 1 per cent each.
Courtesy of New Age
