#Title

Stocks’ slide stops
DSEX picked up yesterday after a two-day plunge as many solid stocks nosedived to a four- or five-year low, making them too tempting to retail investors. Besides, the Bangladesh Merchant Bankers’ Association’s disclosure that the finance ministry ordered four state banks to invest in stocks helped too.
DSEX rose to 4,068.20 points (increased 31.95 points, or 0.79 %)
Top positive contributor to DSEX
Company
Square Pharmaceuticals
BATB
Brac Bank
Shahjalal Islami Bank
ICB
In points
4.41
2.75
2.73
2.21
1.46
Turnover Tk 242.82 crore (dropped Tk 19.9 crore, or 7.67 %)
Top five gainers
Top five losers
Loss (in %)
9.56
8.57
7.95
6.07
5.48
Company
Dacca Dyeing
Progressive Life
Tosrifa Industries
Meghna Milk
RN Spinning
Gain (in %)
10
9.97
9.67
9.40
9.37
Company
Shympur Sugar
Northern Jute
Stylecraft
ADN Telecom
Atlas Bangla
DSEX
4,100
4,050
10:30AM
2:30PM

Opp MPs seek

PM’s intervention in bourse
Star Business Report
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Opposition Jatiya Party MP Kazi Firoz Rashid and BNP MP Harunur Rashid in parliament yesterday urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to take steps to save the ailing stock market.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, shed 1,882 points, or 31.63 percent, since February last year.
“If the prime minister intervenes then the share market can be revamped,” Rashid said, adding that there are reports of bourse’s deplorable situation in the media every day.
Quoting expert opinions he said the absence of good governance was failing to give confidence to investors to put in more money.
“This is an ominous sign for the market.”
The listing of weak companies was causing the fall, Rashid said, while criticising the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) heavily.
“The BSEC is the authority for this listing. Some merchant banks and issuers are bringing these weak companies in the market.”
So far no punitive measures have been taken against the BSEC or anyone for bringing such rotten companies.
He questioned how a Tk 10 share can get listed with Tk 30 in premium, how these shares came to the market, why the issue managers were not being arrested and why the merchant banks were not being held accountable.
BNP MP Harunur Rashid criticised ministers, including Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, saying they do not see any devastation in the share market.
“They said that there is no crisis. We are astonished, for the last one week people are lying on the roads due to debacle in the share market. They are crying, thousands of families are getting ruined, but the government is not taking any visible steps that would assure us,” he said.
The opposition MP said that news has been published in the newspapers that the foreign investors are going away from the share market.
He also questioned the finance minister about the actions he has taken to save the share market.