Stocks return from losses

After a long bearish spell, Dhaka stocks returned from losses yesterday on expectations of a positive outcome from a meeting between the market regulators and merchant bankers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sat with the merchant bankers yesterday to discuss the market situation.

The bankers told the SEC that they would take all necessary steps to stabilise the market, SEC officials said.

The officials said the merchant bankers had assured the SEC that they would not force any client into sell-offs to adjust margin loans.

The merchant bankers also told the meeting that they had been rattled by talk of SEC's move to launch an investigation against some merchant banks.

"We have assured them that there was no such move underway,” said SEC Executive Director Farhad Ahmed after the meeting.

The benchmark DSE General Index jumped 76.33 points, or 2.94 percent, to 2,672.65 points. The DSE All Share Price Index went up 61.38 points, or 2.85 percent, to 2,208.43 points.

The market started with a huge momentum toward an upward trend. After four days of index shedding, the market gained more than 74 points in ten minutes.

The market stayed steady all day except for the mid session that saw a decline of six points.

The gainers outnumbered the losers on the DSE. Of the 249 traded issues, 232 advanced, 14 declined and three remained unchanged.

A total of 2,02,11,050 shares worth Tk 233.72 crore changed hands on the premier bourse.

Beximco topped the turnover leaders on the DSE with 10,27,800 traded shares worth Tk 21.53 crore. The other turnover leaders were Shinepukur Ceramics, Beximco Pharma, Summit Power, Titas Gas, Jamuna Oil, Uttara Bank, Grameen Mutual Fund One: Scheme Two, Summit Alliance Port and ACI Formulations.

Chittagong stocks also posted a sharp rise. The CSE Selective Categories Index shot up 151.34 points, or 2.89 percent, to 5,373.88 points. The CSE All Share Price Index also jumped 219.22 points, or 2.72 percent, to 8,251.58 points.

A total of 41,35,663 shares worth Tk 37.29 crore changed hands on the Chittagong Stock Exchange. Of the 142 traded scrips on the port city bourse, 129 advanced, 10 declined and three remain unchanged.

Beximco topped the turnover leaders on the CSE with 1,90,500 traded shares worth Tk 3.97 crore. The other turnover leaders were Jamuna Oil, Beximco Pharma, Shinepukur Ceramics, Meghna Petroleum, BSRM Steels, Titas Gas, Grameen Mutual Fund One: Scheme Two, AIMS 1st Mutual Fund and Summit Power.