Stocks rise riding on insurance sector

Dhaka stocks rose for a second consecutive day yesterday riding on the government’s plan to increase penetration of the insurance sector through some positive measures.

With eight of the top 10 in the gainers’ list coming from the insurance sector, the DSEX, the premier bourse’s benchmark index, rose 11.16 points or 0.20 percent to close at 5,411.40.

In the budget for 2019-20, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said preparations had been taken to bring expatriate workers under insurance schemes while all government employees under an integrated insurance system instead of group insurance.

He also proposed introducing crop and livestock insurance. “Digitisation of the insurance sector and its high rate of penetration have been planned,” the minister said.

The new plans of the proposed budget have encouraged stock investors to pour money into the sector, according to market analysts.

Investors should be cautious during making new investments in such companies, as stocks of some insurance companies have been found soaring abnormally, market insiders said.

The top eight gainers are Rupali Life, Sunlife, Eastern, Progress Life, Sandhani Life, Eastland, Meghna Life and Prime Life Insurance.

Eastern, Sonar Bangla, Rupali Life, Global, Eastland and Pragati Life Insurance topped the turnover list.

Turnover jumped 4.77 percent to Tk 554.04 crore, with 16.17 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands. Of the traded issues, 124 advanced, 174 declined and 53 closed unchanged.

According to the UCB Capital’s market review, general insurance sector gained the highest 1.21 percent.

Chittagong stocks also rose with the bourse’s benchmark index, CSCX, advancing 6.24 points, or 0.06 percent, to finish at 10,038.47.

Losers beat gainers as 104 advanced, 141 declined while 22 securities ended unchanged on Chittagong Stock Exchange.

The port city bourse traded 87.39 lakh shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 35.47 crore.