Dhaka stocks gained on Monday amid low turnover as directors of nine listed companies announced to buy more than 3 crore shares to comply with the regulator’s mandatory shareholding rule.
DGEN, the benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, gained 1.10 per cent, or 55.34 points, to close the day at 5,057.15 points.
The DSE benchmark index lost 74.81 points on Sunday after gaining a huge 175.02 points on Thursday. The DGEN lost 168.68 points on Wednesday and 98.62 points on Tuesday amid tensions over the outcome of the legal battle over the mandatory shareholding rule.
Monday’s turnover dropped to Tk 348.44 crore from that of Tk 389.88 crore on the day before.
Of the 259 issues traded on the day, 176 advanced, 64 declined and 19 remained unchanged.
Market operators said the participation of general investors was less on Monday as they were still nervous about the outcome of the legal battle over mandatory shareholding rules which turned out to be a crucial concern for the market.
Investors’ worries intensified last week following repeated writ petitions filed by several directors against the SEC rule of holding 2 per cent shares individually and 30 per cent jointly in their respective companies by May 21, they said.
‘The heavy fluctuation of the DEGN curve during Monday’s session also indicated investors’ shaky confidence,’ said a stockbroker. ‘But a number of announcements by several directors helped the market to close positive.’
Among the major sectors, bank stocks were the highest appreciated shares on Monday as the sector posted 2.13 per cent gain.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka Stock Exchange on Monday suspended share trading of Janata Insurance Ltd as the company has adopted its audited accounts of 2011 while the annual general meeting of 2010 is still pending.
Janata Insurance declared 10 per cent stock dividend for 2011 and 15 per cent stock dividend for 2010.
-With New Age input