Stocks pass a buoyant week

Stocks gained 5.58 percent last week, the highest single week gain this year, continuing the ride on investor optimism following the possibility of the World Bank loan revival for the Padma Bridge.
The General Index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DGEN, market-tracking index, finished the week at 4,678.92 points, after surging 147.41 points.
“The market closed higher for the second consecutive week anticipating a positive settlement of Padma Bridge funding issue by World Bank," LankaBangla Securities said in its weekly market analysis.
The World Bank has finally decided to revive its $1.2 billion loan deal for the Padma Bridge project.
"Moreover, apparent liquidity in the money market increased the participation of institutional investors, which eventually increased the market activities significantly during the whole week," it said.
Furthermore, economic indicators were relatively stable throughout the week and the market rallied mostly relying on banks, cements and mutual funds, it added.
DGEN crossed 6,400-point mark in the last week after three months with significantly improving turnover boosted up investors' confidence, an analyst said.
Daily average turnover rose 37.36 percent to Tk 1,117 crore, compared to the previous week.
Anticipation of a positive market trend also lured the investors to make fresh investment, while stable money-market and overall stable economic situation accelerated market participation, he said.
Banks rose 17.09 percent and non-bank financial institutions 5.53 percent, while telecom and pharma gained more than 2 percent each.
Among the major sectors, the biggest gainer was the mutual fund, registering a 19.52 percent rise.
The cement sector gained more than 10 percent, while power lost 3.50 percent.
Of 281 issues that traded on the DSE floor, 203 advanced, 76 declined and two remained unchanged.
Titas Gas topped the turnover leader of the last week, thanks to its transaction of 3.6 crore shares worth Tk 284 crore.
Grameen Mutual Fund One was the biggest gainer of the week, posting a 60.06 percent gain, while GPH Ispat lost 12.74 percent as the worst loser.