Stocks soar as Hasina steps in

Stocks prices soared by more than 7 percent, hours before the prime minister sat at an emergency meeting with the market stakeholders.
The key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DGEN, yesterday shrugged off previous three days' losses and reached 4,987 points, after gaining 338 points.
Retail investors, however, continued their demonstration in front of the DSE building for the third consecutive day.
The investors said they would continue their agitation until the market is stabilised.
The demonstration halted traffic on one side of the road between Shapla Square and the Ittefaq crossing in the busy financial hub of Motijheel until around 6:00pm.
Stockbrokers said high expectations of a positive outcome from the prime minister's meeting pulled up the market.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday sat with the market stakeholders at her official residence of Gono Bhaban to discuss the current stockmarket situation.
The market stakeholders include Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, the finance minister, a deputy governor of the central bank, Bank and Financial Institutions Division secretary, National Board of Revenue chairman, chief of Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, leaders of Bangladesh Insurance Association, Bangladesh Association of Banks, Association of Bankers, Bangladesh, and presidents of Dhaka and Chittagong bourses.
The prime minister's decision to sit with the key stakeholders of the market to restore confidence attracted the speculative investors to take position, LankaBangla Securities, a leading stockbroker, said in its regular market analysis.
“Most of the investors took position in their favourite stocks in the hope that the prime minister's meeting will produce a fruitful result,” the stockbroker said.
Due to the high expectation there were a few sales orders on the market.
“The investors were cautiously optimistic about the market condition but many were unable to participate to the full extent as their funds are already invested in the market,” said Green Delta Securities, another stockbroker, in its regular market update.
The single-day turnover on the premier bourse increased to Tk 285 crore from the previous day's Tk 252 crore. But experts believe that, to have sustainable market condition, the turnover of the DSE needs to sustain for a couple of sessions.
Market breadth, which indicates the health of the market, was positive, as 245 securities gained values and only 10 lost ground.