Stocks rise for second day

The stock market index continued to rise for a second consecutive day yesterday, the eve of a meeting between the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and stakeholders on the market's current condition.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), edged up 7 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 6,765.

Stocks posted modest gains as investors are showing interest at lucrative prices, said International Leasing Securities in its daily market review.

Investors increased their participation as the regulator is trying to increase the flow of liquidity to the market. Investors are also expecting the meeting to take decisions that are fruitful for them, it added.

At the day's end, DS30, the blue-chip index, gained 3.02 points and the DSES, the Shariah index, lost 0.48 points.

Among the sectors, ceramic rose 2.1 per cent, jute 1.9 and financial institutions 1.6 per cent whereas the IT sector dropped 1.1 per cent and tannery 0.6 per cent.

Trading was mainly concentrated on textile, which accounted for 11.5 per cent of the turnover, followed by engineering (10.8 per cent) and paper & printing (9.3 per cent).

The Sonali Paper and Board Mills was the stock to be traded the most, with shares worth Tk 71 crore changing hands, followed by Genex Infosys, Fortune Shoes, Beximco and GPH Ispat.

Northern Islami Insurance topped the gainers' list, rising 8.78 per cent, followed by Bangladesh National Insurance Company, IPDC Finance, Phoenix Finance First Mutual Fund and Crown Cement.

Dutch Bangla Bank shed the most, dropping 9.31 per cent, followed by Premier Bank, Bangladesh Monospool Paper Manufacturing Company, Tamijuddin Textile Mills and Atlas Bangladesh.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also rose yesterday. The Caspi, the main index of the bourse of the port city, went up 15 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 19,804.

Among the 301 stocks to be traded, 139 rose, 124 fell and 38 remained unchanged.