Stocks end flat

Stocks ended flat yesterday with the lowest turnover in the last five weeks, as the investors adopted a wait-and-see policy to observe the pre-implemen-tation stage of a special scheme announced by the government for affected small investors.
The benchmark General Index, DGEN, of the Dhaka Stock Exchange closed at 4,389.01 points, after adding 0.08 percent or 3.78 points.
Analysts said a group of investors were spreading rumour in the market about the special scheme to gain unethical benefits.
Most of the investors were waiting to see how the scheme is being implemented, they said.
The investors created some buying pressures during the last hour of trading after the monitoring teams of the DSE and Securities and Exchange Commission started to visit different brokerage firms, the analysts said.
The finance ministry on Monday issued a circular, suggesting a 50 percent waiver on the margin loan interest for small investors, in an effort to bring back normalcy in the market.
Although the special scheme was meant for the small investors only, the big investors also should support the market, said a stockbroker.
The DGEN lost 65 points within the first five minutes of trading and then started rising for the next one hour, reaching about 4,415 points. Turnover lost 34.2 percent, compared to the previous day.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange gained yesterday. The Selective Categories Index went up 0.10 percent or 8.29 points, to end the day at 8,115.11 points.