Cement has gained the most among the sectors so far this year on the back of a price rally of Lafarge Surma Cement.

Between January 1 and October 2, the most recent trading day, the sector generated 130 percent growth, followed by telecoms, food and allied, service and pharma respectively.

Meanwhile, Lafarge's share price, riding on the optimism generated by the progress in some major infrastructure projects such as the Padma bridge, advanced around 263 percent to Tk 138 during the period, said Md Moniruzzaman, managing director of IDLC Investments.

The company declared 5 percent interim cash dividends, while its net profit rose 32.07 percent year-on-year toTk 140 crore during the January-June period.

The telecoms sector gained 92.7 percent riding on price appreciation of Grameenphone, he said.

Shares of the country's largest mobile operator rose around 91 percent in the last nine months toTk 382.

The increasing subscriber base and revenue growth from 3G data services are attracting investors, according to Moniruzzaman.

The company's revenues from 3G services stood at Tk 50 crore in the second quarter of 2014.

Grameenphone's revenue in the first six months of theyear was Tk 5,110 crore, up 7.8 percent from the same period last year. Service revenue grew 7.5 percent year-on-year, along with 14.3 percent growth in device and other revenues.

The net profit in the second quarter went up almost 10 times to Tk 544 crore, from Tk 56 crore during April-June period of last year.

The food and allied sector gained 68.8 percent on the back of price appreciation of some companies including British American Tobacco Bangladesh and Olympic Industries.

BAT shares gained around 73 percent and are now trading at Tk 2,766.

Moniruzzaman said investors leaned more towards shares of multinational companies owing to their steady growth of net profit and good dividend history and efficient management.

BAT's net profits rose 39.21 percent year-on-year to Tk 287 crore in the first half of the year. The company sold 2,050 crore sticks in the period, up from 1,780 crore sold in the same period last year, according to BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage.

Consequently, the multinational company's net revenues saw 17.6 percent year-on-year growth in the first half, BRAC EPL said. The company's earnings stood atTk 47.87 per share for the period.