Dhaka stocks gained for the second trading session on Tuesday despite the continuous strike following rumours that the banks might make fresh investments in the capital market as the call-money rate declined to 7 per cent.
The benchmark general index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, advanced to 3594.42 points, gaining 2.25 per cent or 79.33 points on the day.
Market operators said the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission might allow the mutual funds to issue stock dividends, which made the investors optimistic about the market.
A section of investors who had been inactive of late opted to make fresh investments by buying shares on the cheap, they added.
A senior official of a merchant bank said the mutual funds gained in recent times thanks to the rumour that the capital market regulator might take a positive decision about the sector.
‘The fact that we may see an important decision anytime might have paved the way for the bourse to finish on the up in consecutive days despite continuous strikes,’ he said.
Banks might come to the capital market to make further investments as the inter-bank call money rate declined to 7 per cent, which means they have adequate funds to invest, he added.
DGEN, the old benchmark general index of the bourse, finished at 3,732.64 points on the day, gaining 1.81 per cent or 67.22 points.
The DGEN have gained 81.97 points in the last two trading sessions now, a sharp contrast to the previous two weeks when it had lost 281 points.
The blue-chip index of the bourse, DS30, gained 1.73 per cent, or 22.66 points, to close at 1,329.10 points on the day.
The turnover of the bourse advanced to Tk 187.26 crore, recording a 26.94 per cent increase from the earlier trading session’s Tk 147.52 crore.
‘After much shed-offs over political volatility, positive ending in last session has instilled hope amid investors. Resultantly, despite unchanged political scenario, daily turnover grew 26.94 per cent as investors went for accumulating lucrative stocks over positive expectations. Regulatory expectations also played some role in whooping up activity,’ IDLC Investments said in its market commentary.
Among the 274 shares and mutual funds traded on the day, 235 advanced, 31 declined and 8 issues remained unchanged.
The textile sector gained the most on the day as its shares advanced by 5.35 per cent while banking sector followed the list with a 1.74 per cent increase.
While life insurance gained 2.08 per cent and the telecommunication sector gained 0.44 per cent.
Shares of new companies continued to dominate the market as Orion Pharma, Premier Cement and Summit Purbanchol Power Company captured 14 per cent of the day’s total turnover.
Orion Pharma topped the day’s turnover chart as its shares worth Tk 11.64 crore changed hands.
CVO Petrochemical Refinery led the gainers’ list as its shares went up by 9.97 per cent while First Lease Finance and Investment lost the most, 19.34 per cent.
-With New Age input
