Stocks gained 2.17 percent yesterday -- the highest in three weeks -- thanks to a buying spree in anticipation of a good run.

The banking sector, which accounts for 30 percent of the total market capitalisation, registered substantial gains in the last few days to pull up the DGEN to close at 4,177 points.

“Investors preferred the most-weighted banking sector anticipating a bear run in the market,” said Masrib Zahid, managing director of Cosmopolitan Finance, adding that it was encouraging to see that the DGEN was not dropping beyond the 4,000 points.

“However, it is a matter of concern that the volume is so low, which suggests low investor confidence,” he said.

Turnover rose by 23.94 percent from the previous day to Tk 218 crore.

“Investors were more upbeat on the banking sector, which gained by 3.46 percent,” IDLC Investments said in its daily market commentary.

“In addition, some other large cap stocks -- Grameenphone, Titas Gas and Lafarge Surma Cement -- experienced positive movements which turned it into a large cap rally,” the merchant bank said.

A total of 0.75 lakh trades were executed yesterday, with 6.96 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands on the Dhaka bourse.

All the major sectors ended in the black. Banks rose by 3.45 percent, followed by non-bank financial institutions at 3.32 percent, power 2.17 percent, telecommunications at 0.80 percent and pharmaceuticals at 0.58 percent.

Of the 260 issues that traded on the DSE, 222 advanced, 33 declined and 5 remained unchanged.

National Bank was the top traded stock of the day with its transaction of 67.22 lakh shares worth Tk 15.21 crore.

Prime Leasing and Finance was the biggest gainer of the day, posting an 8.87 percent rise, while Modern Dyeing and Screen Printing was the worst loser, slumping 6.78 percent.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/18th-Dec-12

Stocks opened the week with downward pressure yet again, thanks to investors' selling spree in anticipation of a bear run.

DGEN, key market tracking index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), finished the day at 4,018.06 points, after dropping 48.18 points or 1.18 percent.

Trading at the premier bourse started an hour late at 11:30 am due to technical fault.

“This problem will not re-occur again as we have already rectified it once and for all,” a DSE official said.

The bourse observed active sell pressure from the very beginning and to end the day in the red.

“The bourse got another blow by way of a countrywide eight-hour long road blockade. Most of the securities from every sector suffered from price corrections amid increased political violence during recent periods,” said IDLC Investments in its daily market commentary.

IPOs attracted investors' interests the most. For instance, Envoy Textile which debuted today obtained a 23.47 percent turnover, added the merchant bank.

“Market traded with bearish momentum all through the trading session. Although the current economic scenario is sluggish, forthcoming financing prospects and improving economic indicators suggest long-term prosperity” said LankaBangla Securities in its market commentary.

The stockbroker added: “Investors are discounting the fact that the financing prospects of Padma Bridge have become bleak again due to the World Bank and the government failing to reach an agreement.”

Turnover, however, remained almost flat compared to the previous session at Tk 213 crore, with 5.18 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands on the premier bourse.

Losers beat gainers by a huge margin of 214 to 37, with 13 securities remaining unchanged on the DSE floor.

All the major sectors posted losses on the day: non-bank financial institutions dropped 1.89 percent, followed by power 1.65, banks 1.56 percent, telecommunications 0.72 percent and pharmaceuticals 0.46 percent.

Envoy Textile was the most traded stock of the day, thanks to its transaction of 80.21 lakh shares worth Tk 50.16 crore.

The company also was the biggest gainer of the day, posting a 106 percent gain.

The Jamuna Oil Company was the worst loser of the day, plunging by 27.64 percent.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/10th-Dec-12

Stocks returned to the red again after meagre improvement in the previous week as ongoing downtrend and subsequent fear of unknown bottom is still puzzling the investors to come out of the 'wait-and-see policy'.

The market witnessed five trading sessions as usual. Among those, four sessions lost 150.72 points while one session gained 6.39 points.

Week-on-week, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DGEN, plunged 144.33 points or 3.43 per cent to close at 4,066.25.

The all share price index DSI went down by 120.09 points or 3.37 per cent to end at 3,440.01. The blue-chip index DSE-20 also lost 96.47 points or 2.82 per cent to close at 3,319.69.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange also declined with the CSE Selective Category Index falling by 265.48 points or 3.24 per cent to close at 7,901.52.

"Addition of a new listing barely helped the market to recover. There was only one positive session during the entire week. Average volume and turnover continued to decline amid poor participation of investors," commented LankaBangla Securities in its weekly market analysis.

"During the week, World Bank's visit regarding Padma Bridge financing issue failed to create positive sentiment, while in earlier months, the investors overreacted to the issue as the bourse was responding quicker to come out of the illusion of knowledge and resulting impulse trading, especially in the current downtrend," the IDLC Investments said in its weekly market analysis.

In the midway of the week, 'hartal day' made the market slow as hartal sentiment influenced the market pulse. As a result, the investors were not keen to participate and turnover hit the five months' low, the IDLC analysis said.

The investors adopted a 'wait-and-see policy' amid increase of political violence. However, Generation Next Fashions created buzz which gained by 335 per cent and occupied 15.52 per cent of total trade on debut trading session, it added.

Week closed over falling sentiment. News of gloomy outlook over much wanted Padma Bridge financing by World Bank scared the market. However, it had not affected the market like before. Fear of unknown bottom of ongoing downtrend is still puzzling investors to come out of the 'wait-and-see policy', it added.

News: The Daily Financial Express/Bangladesh/8th-Dec-12

Stocks declined for the third week, as investors kept selling shares and mutual fund units ahead of the Eid festival and Durga Puja, while institutional investors preferred monitor the market.

DGEN, the benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, finished the week at 4,458.57 points, after falling 23.69 points, or 0.53 percent.

Daily average turnover declined 13.07 percent to Tk 499 crore, compared to the previous week.

"The market closed marginally lower as investors went for withdrawing fund ahead of Eid festival," said Mohammad A Hafiz, president of Bangladesh Merchant Bankers' Association.

The market declined last week as investors sold shares ahead of Durga Puja and Eid-ul-Azha, market analysts said.

Institutional investors were waiting for the third quarterly earnings declaration of some listed companies before making any long-term investment decision, they said.

“The upcoming Eid festival and initial public offerings issues pulled out a portion of fund from the market, while the investors were waiting for earnings based market movement after disclosure of quarterly earnings of some listed companies," stated IDLC Investments in its weekly analysis.

The present market situation is normal and the investors are not 'panicked' rather they are 'indecisive' regarding future market movement, said the merchant bank.

The turnover fell sharply last week before the festivals for which the holidays will start from October 24, said BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage.

Among the five trading sessions of the week, two sessions lost 55.08 points while three sessions gained 31.39 points.

Out of the 281 issues that traded on the DSE floor, 127 advanced, 143 declined and 11 remained unchanged in the week.

All the major sectors closed in the red. Telecom lost 1.85 percent followed by non-bank financial institutions 1.16 percent, pharma 0.83 percent, power 0.11 percent and banks 0.71 percent.

The highest gainer of the week was mutual fund, which gained 4.01 percent, while cement rose 3.61 percent.

The mutual fund also dominated the top 10 gainers' list as six issues of the list came from the sector.

Over the last week, energy sector issues were the most traded, accounting for 17.70 percent of the total trade, as the dividend declaration of the major companies of the sector is forthcoming.

United Airways featured in the most traded stocks chart with 9.05 crore shares worth Tk 277 crore changing hands.

Bangas was the highest gainer of the week, posting a rise of 18.44 percent, while aamra technologies was the worst loser, plunging by 18.54 percent.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/21th-Oct-12

Manjum Ali, CEO of NCCB Securities and Financial Services Limited and Mirza Elias Uddin Ahmed, CEO of Jamuna Bank Capital Management Limited, seen exchange documents after signing an agreement in Dhaka recently.

NCCB Securities and Financial Services Limited signed an agreement with Jamuna Bank Capital Management Limited (JBCML) on panel broker agreement recently.

Mohammed Nurul Amin, Managing Director and CEO of NCC Bank Limited attended the signing ceremony as chief guest, said a press release Tuesday.

Manjum Ali, CEO of NCCB Securities and Financial Services Limited and Mirza Elias Uddin Ahmed, CEO of Jamuna Bank Capital Management Limited signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations in Dhaka recently.

Consultant AK Md. Siddique, Deputy Managing Director TM Faruque Chowdhury of NCC Bank were present along with other senior executives of both the organizations.

Under the agreement, clients of Jamuna Bank Capital Management can do their share trading through NCCB Securities and Financial Services Limited.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/10th-Oct-12