A group of stock investors placed an 11-point demand, including resignation of the chairman of the securities regulator for his "failure to bring back stability in the market".
Angry investors held a rally on Monday at 3:00pm in front of the old building of the Dhaka Stock Exchange in the capital's Motijheel under the banner of Bangladesh Capital Market Investor Association (BCMIA).
The protesters demanded that Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Khondokar Rashed Maqsood and Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) Chairman Prof Abu Ahmed be replaced immediately with "qualified individuals" to stabilise the market.
They alleged that the regulator had been failing to address manipulations and wrongdoings in the market.
SM Iqbal Hossain, spokesperson of the association, said the BSEC chief and the ICB chief had failed to prevent the market's downturn.
The other demands include a complete withdrawal of capital gain tax, an end to unnecessary regulatory interference in the market, changes to provision for transferring companies to Z category, and a provision making it compulsory for companies to share a minimum of 50 per cent of their income in the form of dividends.
If any company fails to pay dividends for two consecutive years, its board will have to be restructured immediately, the protesters said.
They also demanded immediate release of reports of the capital market task force in the greater interest of the market as well as investors.
Market Performance
On Monday, stocks ended marginally higher, snapping a three-day losing streak, as bargain hunters opted to take positions in selective oversold shares in anticipation of short-term gains.
The market recovery was largely supported by fundamentally-strong stocks following favorable quarterly earnings disclosure.
Better-than-expected earnings of sector-specific companies have somewhat invigorated the market, said EBL Securities.
Buyers remained on the dominant side as opportunistic investors sought oversold stocks that they deemed lucrative at the prevailing price levels.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, finally went up by almost 20 points or 0.38 percent to 5,146.
The blue chip index DS30, a group of 30 prominent companies, rose 1.45 points to 1,909 while the DSES Index, which represents Shariah-based companies, gained 3.7 points to 1,139.
Investors' buying interest was seen in certain bank stocks ahead of their upcoming annual earnings disclosures and dividend declarations.
Islami Bank, Eastern Bank, Renata, Dhaka Bank and Trust Bank led the market rally. They jointly accounted for a 10-point rise of the key index on Monday.
Market turnover surged 21 per cent to Tk 4.31 billion on the prime bourse. The banking sector accounted for 16.8 per cent of the day's market turnover, followed by textile and pharmaceutical sectors.
Most of the traded issues saw price appreciation. Out of 399 issues traded, 219 closed higher, 113 ended lower and 67 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Grameenphone became the most-traded stocks with shares worth Tk 188 million changing hands, followed by City Bank, Rupali Life Insurance, Beach Hatchery and Central Pharma.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher with its All Share Price Index (CASPI) rising 32 points to 14,376 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) gaining 13 points to 8,737.
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