Dhaka stocks gain sharply

FE Report

Dhaka stocks gained sharply Sunday as investors went for fresh buying following the news of appointment of new chairman of capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The turnover, in value term, also increased substantially due to wide participation of institutional and individual investors.

"The investors regained some confidence with the appointment of new chairman of the capital market regulator which reflected in the trading," said a stock broker.

The government appointed Sunday Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) Chairman and finance professor at Dhaka University Dr M Khairul Hossain SEC chairman.

The benchmark DSE General Index (DGEN), main gauge of the market, went up by 175.62 points or 3.12 per cent to close at 5,788.14.

In the last two consecutive sessions, the benchmark index gained 304 points.

The broader All Shares Price Index (DSI) rose 140.51 points or 3.0 per cent and closed at 4,812.37. The DSE-20 index comprising blue-chip shares also rose 75.02 points or 2.03 per cent to 3,756.67.

Meanwhile, the market started the day with a strong note, gaining more than 100 points within 10 minutes and the momentum continued until the closure, as the investors went for fresh buying in most sectors following the appointment of SEC chairman.

Investors appreciated the government for appointing SEC chairman and urged the new chairman to take step to keep the market stable.

"The small investors want a stable market and hope the new chairman will work to achieve this goal," said Mr Salam, an investor.

Mr Arif Khan, managing director of Zenith Investment Limited, an asset management company, said it is a normal behiviour of the market and many investors started to buy shares as prices touched their purchasable level.

"The market dropped persistently in the last few weeks, as a result many issues came to an attractive price level which prompted investors to buy shares from starting of trading," said Mr Khan.

The investors also took the appointment of new SEC chair positively, Mr Khan added. Total turnover value stood at Tk 5.6 billion, which was 25.2 per cent higher than that of Thursday's value of Tk 4.5 billion.