Stocks extended a latest rally for the second consecutive week with investors putting fresh bets on selective issues even as Tuesday's meeting between regulators on the issue of banks' investment in stocks ended inconclusively.
Week on week, DSEX, the prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), climbed 48.54 points or 0.70 per cent to settle the week at 6,984.
On Tuesday, the finance ministry held a coordination meeting with the Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and the National Board of Revenue but failed to find a way to resolve some disputes relating to the capital market.
Although the meeting produced no major decision, they gave an assurance that they would come up with a visible and positive decision by the end of this month or at the beginning of January, which prompted investors to become active in the market, said a leading broker.
Market analysts said the regulatory directive for compliance with mandatory shareholding by sponsor-directors of listed companies within a month also encouraged some investors.
The securities regulator asked 27 listed companies to ensure mandatory 30 per cent shareholding jointly in their respective firms within a month.
As a result, the weekly gainers' list was dominated by small-cap companies which faced the BSEC ultimatum.
Five small-cap stocks featured in the week's top gainers' list with Fine Foods as the highest gainer, soaring 29.25 per cent, followed by Information Services Network (27.68 per cent), Fu-Wang Foods (25.18 per cent), Appollo Ispat (22.89 per cent), and Shuwrid Industries (21.57 per cent).
“The market index posted gains in four trading sessions of the week, buoyed by optimism over the high-level meeting arranged to resolve the tussle between two regulators,” said a merchant banker.
Besides, private-sector credit growth accelerated to 9.44 per cent in October, the highest in 13 months as the economy is running in full swing, which also encouraged the stock investors, he said.
During the week, the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) also rose 16.34 points to close at 1,475. However, the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, shed 3.74 points to finish at 2,632.
Market capitalisation of the DSE also rose by 0.79 per cent, compared to the previous week, to Tk 5,571 billion on Thursday.
The week's total turnover stood at Tk 53.09 billion on the prime bourse as against Tk 50.40 billion in the previous week.
The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 10.61 billion on the country's premier bourse, which was 5.34 per cent higher than the previous week's average of Tk 10.07 billion.
Gainers took a strong lead over the losers, as out of 380 issues traded, 278 closed higher, 79 lower and 23 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco topped the turnover list with shares worth Tk 4.96 billion changing hands, followed by ONE Bank (Tk 2.13 billion), GSP Finance (Tk 1.37 billion), First Security Islami Bank (Tk 1.34 billion) and IFIC Bank (Tk 1.16 billion).
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher, with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) rising 208 points to settle at 20,462, while its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rose 114 points to close at 12,294.
Of the issues traded, 243 advanced, 77 declined and 15 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city's bourse traded 92.56 million shares and mutual-fund units with turnover value of Tk 2.35 billion.
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