Stocks yesterday gained the highest gain in two months as investors went on a buying spree following a positive decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sponsor and directors who failed to buy back the minimum 2 percent shares in their companies by May 21 will no longer be permitted to sit on the boards, the SEC said yesterday.

The decision sent the investors into heavy buying, with the benchmark general index DGEN surging by 134.05 points and finishing the day at 4,400 points.

“Investors injected capital into their respected stocks after hearing the positive decision from the SEC meeting,” said LankaBangla Securities in its daily market analysis.

Turnover stood at Tk 162 crore, after rising 13.6 percent from the previous day.

A total of 0.60 lakh trades were executed, with 3.69 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands at the Dhaka bourse. All the sectors closed at green; non-bank financial institutions gained 4.14 percent, followed by power 3.35 percent and banks 2.94 percent.

Telecommunications and pharmaceuticals also rose, by 2.27 percent and 2.91 percent respectively.

Of the 268 issues that traded on the DSE, 253 advanced, nine declined and six remained unchanged.

Grameenphone, which went up by 2.2 percent, was the most traded stock of the day with 4.9 lakh shares worth Tk 10.10 crore changing hands.

Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company and Square Pharmaceuticals were the next most popular stocks.

GBB Power featured in the top ten gainers chart, having advanced by 10 percent.

Shyampur Suger Mills was the biggest loser of the day, slumping by 6 percent.

The Selective Categories Index, CSEX, the indicator of Chittagong Stock Exchange closed the day at 8432 points, after gaining 232 points.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 27th June 2012