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DSEX gains 148 points after 7-yr record fall
Bourse sits with banks’ high-ups
FE Report | Wednesday, 11 March 2020
The main index of Dhaka bourse gained 148 points on Tuesday after the record high correction of the previous session, as majority number of listed securities closed in green zone on the day.
Operators said the market bounced back strongly following two separate moves to expedite banks' investment activities under the Bangladesh Bank (BB)-announced special fund.
On the day, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) broad index - DSEX - displayed buoyancy from the very beginning of the session.
DSEX suffered the biggest fall of 279 points in the previous session, due to panic sale following confirmation of three cases of Coronavirus in Bangladesh.
After the record high fall on Monday, the BB and the DSE became active on Tuesday to form the Tk two-billion special fund and facilitate investment activities by the scheduled banks.
The market opened positively on Tuesday, and DSEX gained 116 points within the first twenty minutes.
Except a little correction, observed just before the mid-session, the index exhibited a steady upward trend and continued until closure.
Finally, DSEX settled at 4,156.32 points with a rise of 3.69 per cent or 148.26 points, as out of the 356 issues traded, 323 closed in green.
The shariah-based index - DSES - and DS30 index - comprising blue chip securities - rose by 3.35 per cent and 3.27 per cent respectively.
A senior official of the central bank said they asked many scheduled banks on Tuesday to form the special fund, and start their investment activities on an urgent basis by lessening 'bureaucratic' complexities.
"We have asked the banks, having capacity of forming the special fund, to start investment activities soon. The central bank will monitor their activities on a regular basis," the BB official told the FE.
On Tuesday, the premier bourse high-ups held a meeting with the managing directors (MDs) and representatives of 30 listed banks.
After the meeting, the DSE Chairman Md. Eunusur Rahman told the newsmen that they wanted to know about updates of forming the special fund in line with the BB's circular.
"In the meeting, the representatives of listed banks spoke about some minor complexities in forming the fund for capital market," Mr. Rahman said. The DSE assured the banks of placing their problems before the central bank and the securities regulator to facilitate formation of the fund and investment activities by the banks, he added.
The DSE managing director Kazi Sanaul Hoq said they will work to address the banks' minor problems in implementing the government's market supportive measures.
On Tuesday, amid the sharp rise of DSEX, turnover declined moderately compared to the previous session.
The premier bourse posted a turnover of above Tk 3.28 billion, which was 34.24 per cent lower than the previous session.
A leading brokerage firm said the turnover declined, as many investors adopted a wait-and-see stance amid volatility of the market. Among the major sectors, financial institutions witnessed the highest price appreciation of 5.4 per cent, followed by textile 5.3 per cent, engineering 4.2 per cent, fuel and power 3.7 per cent, and bank 3.3 per cent.
Investors' participation was concentrated mostly on pharmaceuticals and chemicals sector, which grabbed 22.6 per cent of the market turnover. It was followed by engineering with 13.9 per cent, textile 11.2 per cent, and bank 7.0 per cent. On Tuesday, CASPI, broad index of the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also posted a sharp rise.
At the end of the session, CASPI closed at 12,671.70 points with a rise of 2.78 per cent or 342.91 points. Of the 243 issues traded on the port-city bourse, 180 advanced, 49 declined and 14 remained unchanged.