Staff Reporter :
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 40 points to cross the 5,000-mark on Thursday and stood at 5011 points after almost one year amid growing general investors’ confidence over regulatory moves to revive the sinking market.
Prices of most shares on the bourses witnessed a positive trend in the early hours of trading on Thursday as optimistic investors continued to buy shares.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, stock analysts and market insiders said growing investors’ confidence following the securities regulator’s stance against manipulation, mandatory shareholding issue and planning on junk stocks had encouraged investors to take positions on stocks.
Meanwhile, turnover declined by 5.0% to Tk1,024.6 crore during the session at the DSE, which was Tk1,078 crore in the previous session. The pharmaceuticals sector contributed 22% of the total turnover while the
engineering, insurance and banking sectors contributed 10.9%, 8.4% and 8.2% respectively, according to stockbangladesh.com.
Among the traded issues, 190 gained, 117 declined and 49 remained unchanged during the session at the Dhaka bourse. The Dhaka Stock Exchange now has a market capitalization of Tk378,942 crore with the benchmark index, DSEX, up by 12.54% since the beginning of this year.
Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd secured the leadership position on the top turnover chart, with a turnover of Tk55.3 crore with its share price closing at Tk122.6 per share. Hakkani Pulp & Paper Mills Ltd secured the highest gain of 9.9% during the session. Pragati Life Insurance Ltd turned out the worst loser, with its price declining by 9.9%.
Market insiders say growing investors’ confidence, buoyed by the campaign of the new leadership of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) against manipulation, mandatory shareholding issues and plans related to junk stocks had encouraged investors.
The commission, under the leadership of Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, launched the drive against wrongdoers on June 23. So far it has imposed fines of around Tk45 crore on about 60 people and institutions.
A top official of a brokerage house said that corrective action by the stock market regulator in the last couple of months to rein in wrongdoings in the market had been a catalyst behind the recent surge.
Another market insider said investors’ confidence was growing as the recent disciplinary and development measures had given them a kind of security about their investment.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also ended higher yesterday with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI) gaining 100 points to close at 14,295 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rising 53 points to close at 8,602.
Among the traded issues, 147 gained, 83 declined and 43 remained unchanged at the Chittagong Stock Exchange.
