Dhaka stocks gained last week after a four-week fall as the bargain hunters were out in force. DSEX, the benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, added 1.06 per cent, or 46.41 points, in the week to close at 4,430.48 points on Thursday, last trading day of the week. The DSEX had lost 282 points in the previous four weeks. Market operators said that the market gained last week as some investors bought shares to avail lower prices of securities after a four-week bear run.
But most of the investors still remained cautious and were reluctant to make any fresh investment ahead of the budget of the 2014-15 fiscal year which would be announced this week.
Uncertainties following the finance minister’s announcement that the government ‘would not allow’ legalisation of undisclosed money in the upcoming budget kept investors anxious in recent weeks, market operators said.
The finance minister, AMA Muhith, on May 8 and 9 said that they would not allow ‘whitening of black money in the upcoming budget.’
A legal battle over the market regulator’s mandatory shareholding rule also kept investors worried, they said.
The High Court on May 14 declared illegal a BSEC directive issued on November 22, 2011 that had asked sponsor-directors of listed companies to individually hold minimum 2 per cent shares of the paid-up capital of their respective companies.
The BSEC took the matter to the Appellate Division, and its chamber judge on May 15 stayed the HC verdict.
In last week losers outnumbered gainers as the 303 issues traded, 112 advanced, 168 declined and 23 remained unchanged.
The DS30, blue-chips index of the bourse, gained 1.24 per cent, or 19.67 points, to finish at 1,609.27 points.
The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, went up by 2.05 per cent, or 19.90 points, to close at 992.82 points.
Average daily turnover of the bourse increased by 11.11 per cent in last week to Tk 260.71 crore compared with that of Tk 234.64 crore in the week before.
‘The overall market momentum remained mixed,’ IDLC Investments said in its weekly market analysis.
It said budgetary issues concerned investors, which turned out to be positive for the market in the past week.
‘Throughout the week, investors preferred shuffling across sectors and stocks. The investors preferred large cap stocks,’ said the merchant bank.
It also said that government’s announcement to allocate fund for the Padma bridge construction boosted cement and
engineering sectors last week.
Food and Allied was the biggest gainer last week as it posted a 5.54-per cent gain, followed by telecommunication 3.95 per
cent and pharmaceuticals which advanced by 3.02 per cent.
Non-bank financial institutions lost 1.89 per cent in the week, power 0.75 per cent, while bank inched down by 0.04 per cent,
Lafarge Surma Cement topped the turnover leaders last week with its shares worth Tk 124.70 crore changing hands.
The other turnover leaders were Grameenphone, Square Pharma, BSRM Steels, Mercantile
Bank, Heidelberg Cements, Familytex, Eastern Housing, Meghna Petroleum and Olympic.
-With New Age input
