United News of Bangladesh

Import and export activities at Sonamasjid Land Port in Chapainawabganj will be suspended for eight consecutive days, from March 29 to April 5, to observe Eid-ul-Fitr. During this period, all trade activities between Bangladesh and India will come to a halt. However, passport-holding passengers will still be allowed to travel through the port's immigration checkpost without any restrictions. Payra Port nothing but a 'poisonous boil' for economy: Adviser Wahiduddin Ruhul Amin, secretary of the Sonamasjid Land Port C&F Agent Association, said that the suspension would include the regular weekly holiday, with operations resuming on April 6. Indian authorities at Mahadipur Land Port Customs, along with the C&F Agent and Exporters Associations, were officially notified about the closure. Meanwhile, at Hili Land Port in Dinajpur, trading activities will be suspended for nine days from March 29 to April 5, in observance of Eid-ul-Fitr. However, loading and unloading of goods within the port will continue on non-public holidays. Like Sonamasjid, passport-holding passengers will be able to pass through the Hili Immigration Checkpost as usual. Trading at Burimari port to be suspended for 8 days due to Eid Nazmul Hossain, general secretary of the Hili Land Port Import-Export Group, said that operations will resume on April 6. Both ports are expected to return to regular operations on the morning of April 6, following the Eid holidays.

Dhaka's stock market has faced a continuous decline this week, with the DSEX index losing 40 points over three consecutive trading days. Despite a slight rise during the first hour of trading, the main index, along with the Shariah-based index, ended the day in negative territory on Tuesday. The DSEX index, which closed at 5,166 points last week, dropped to 5,126 points following three days of losses. On Tuesday alone, the DSEX fell by 3 points, while the Shariah-based DSES index decreased by 4 points. But the blue-chip DS30 index managed to rise by 2 points. Mixed Trading Performance Despite the index decline, most companies saw a rise in their share prices. Of the 402 companies traded, prices increased for 173, declined for 152, and remained unchanged for 77. Category A: Out of 222 companies, 91 witnessed price increases, 87 saw declines, and 44 remained unchanged. Category B: Most companies in this category experienced losses. Prices rose for 33 of the 91 companies, fell for 40, and stayed static for 18. Category Z: This underperforming category showed a relative improvement, with 48 of its 85 companies seeing price hikes, 22 experiencing declines, and 15 remaining stable. In the mutual funds segment, prices for nine funds rose, nine fell, and 18 remained unchanged out of the 36 traded funds. Sector-Wise Trends Sector-wise, the ceramics sector recorded the highest price increase at 3.58%. Other sectors showing gains included food, textiles, telecommunications, paper, insurance, mutual funds, and corporate bonds. Conversely, sectors like leather, technology, and jute experienced the steepest declines. Banks and financial institutions also saw an overall negative trend. Read: DSEX index gains over week, but banking sector remains weak Top Gainers and Losers Among the gainers, Omex Electrode Ltd, a B-category company, saw the highest price increase of 6.87%, with shares trading at Tk 28. On the other hand, ADN Telecom Ltd led the decliners with a 9.78% drop, closing at Tk 97.80 from a peak of Tk 108.10 during the day. Dividend Announcements On Tuesday, 10 companies distributed dividends. Notably, the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) declared a 2% dividend, marking its lowest payout in a decade. ICB's dividend rates have been steadily declining, dropping from 35% in 2015 to 2.5% in 2023. Meanwhile, Square Pharmaceuticals provided the highest dividend of 110%, its largest in a decade. Another Square Group company, Square Textiles, declared a 32% dividend, up from 30% in 2023. Kohinoor Chemicals distributed a 50% dividend, an increase from 40% in 2023. Despite this, Kohinoor's shares declined by 3.7%, closing at Tk 534.60. Singer Bangladesh declared a 10% dividend for 2024 despite incurring losses. The company reported a per-share loss of Tk 4.91 for 2024, compared to a profit of Tk 5.24 per share in the previous year. Singer attributed the loss to rising financing costs, which escalated from Tk 60.40 crore in 2023 to Tk 143.30 crore in 2024 due to higher bank interest rates. Chittagong Stock Market Shows Resilience Unlike Dhaka, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw its overall index rise by 21 points on Tuesday. Out of 186 companies traded, 86 experienced price increases, 70 saw declines, and 30 remained unchanged. Read more: DSE sees sharp fall as most stocks suffer price drops However, trading volume dropped significantly, with Tk 10.28 crore in turnover compared to Tk 21 crore in the previous session. The ongoing volatility across the capital markets indicates investor caution, with mixed performance across sectors and trading categories.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) witnessed a slight rise in its key index during the first hour of trading on Sunday, the first working day of the week. In the opening hour, the DSEX, the benchmark index of the DSE, gained 1 point. Among the other indices, the Shariah-based DSES also rose by 1 point, while the blue-chip DS30 index declined by 3 points. During this period, the total turnover on the DSE stood at Tk 94.36 crore. Of the traded companies, the share prices of 165 increased, 116 decreased, and 83 remained unchanged. In a notable development, Power Grid Company Limited announced the removal of its price limit on share trading. Read: DSE ends Sunday’s trading with a downtrend; prices of 282 companies go down Besides, the company revealed that it would not declare any dividends for investors for the July quarter of the last year. Despite the absence of dividends, the company's earnings per share (EPS) for the period stood at Tk 5.01. Meanwhile, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also started the week with an upward trend. The CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) increased by 11 points in the first hour of trading. On the CSE, share prices of 37 companies rose, 19 fell, and 8 remained unchanged. Read more: DSEx and DS30 indexes slide while DSES up by 4.16 points in 1st hour The total turnover at the CSE during this time amounted to Tk 62.29 lakh. Both markets reflect cautious optimism among investors as the week begins, despite mixed movements in individual indices and shares.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) began the week with a downtrend as all three major indices registered losses in the first hour of trading. The benchmark DSEX index dropped by 6 points, while the DS30, representing blue-chip stocks, declined by 2 points. The Shariah-based DSES index also edged lower, losing 0.13 points. During the initial hour, the market turnover stood at approximately Tk 80 crore. Out of the traded shares, prices of 154 stocks decreased, 122 advanced, and 80 remained unchanged. Shares from the automobile, paper mills, fabrics, and engineering sectors performed well, maintaining a stronger position. But the banking sector showed limited activity, with only three banks making it to the top 20 performing stocks. In the broader picture, the DSE's benchmark index has lost 38 points over the past two days, bringing the DSEX to 5,155 points. Read: DSEx and DS30 indexes slide while DSES up by 4.16 points in 1st hour The downward trend extended to the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) as well. In the first hour of trading, the CSE's major index also showed a decline. Prices fell for 41 stocks, increased for 27, while the turnover amounted to Tk 47 crore in shares and bonds. This lacklustre performance at the start of the week indicates cautious investor sentiment as both bourses continue to face headwinds.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the country's main capital market, saw a mixed trend in the first two hours on Tuesday. Two indexes—DSEX and DSES—increased in the morning while DS30 decreased slightly. The main index DSEX increased by 3.92 points to 5,174.71  points; the DSES Shariah index was up by 4.40 points to 1160.31 points and the DS30 special blue chip index fell slightly by 1.06 points to 1921.04 points during the first two hours. Shares and units of 4.09 crore were exchanged through 41650 transactions. In this time, the market witnessed huge selling pressure, and shares and mutual funds worth Tk 110.8 crore were traded. DSEX trading ends with a 25.61 point drop A total of 385 companies participated in trading. Among these, prices of 186 companies increased, 104 companies decreased, and 95 companies remained unchanged at the DSE.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended Thursday’s trading with a downtrend, as prices of 198 companies plunged. The DSE's broad index dropped by 19.06 points to 5,105.43 points, compared to 5,124.49 points in the previous (Wednesday) trading session. The Shariah-based DSES index decreased by 2.05 points to 1140.04 points, and the DS30 blue-chip index fell by 7.52 points to settle at 1881.89 points. Stock market trading was slow during the day as most stocks lost their prices amid huge selling pressure. Small investors were trying to sell their stocks fearing they would lose their gains. A total of 11.34 crore shares and units changed hands through 102838 transactions, seeing a decrease from the previous session of 12.45 crore shares traded through 116982 transactions. Out of the 394 issues (companies) traded, 105 advanced, 198 declined and 91 remained unchanged at the DSE. The port city bourse, CSE, also settled on a downtrend. The All Share Price Index (CASPI) decreased by 60.44 points compared with the previous session and settled at 14304.00 points. DSE benchmark index rises by 14.48 points On the CSE, 204 companies participated in trading. Of them, 49 recorded price gains, 115 saw declines, and 40 remained unchanged. At the CSE, shares and units of 21.19 lakh changed hands through 1568 transactions on Thursday. The value of trading shares and units is Tk 4.27 crores, which was Tk 4.79 crores on the previous day (Wednesday).  

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended Tuesday’s trading on a positive note for the 2nd consecutive day. The broad index of the DSE, advanced by 24.1 points and settled at 5,226.04 points as against 5,202.93 points in the previous trading session. The upward trend extended to other indices as well, with the Shariah-based DSES index raised slightly by 6.10 points to 1174.54 points, and the DS30 blue-chip index increased by 7.10 points to settle at 1921.16 points. The indices maintained their position on the upbeat trajectory for most of today's session, driven by a broad-based market momentum supported by price appreciation across the majority of stocks. Meanwhile, market turnover inched up by 2.4 percent to Tk 512.04 crore as against Tk 500 crore in the previous session. Out of the 402 issues (Companies) traded, 203 advanced, 128 declined and 71 remained unchanged at the DSE. The port city bourse, CSE, also settled on green terrain. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) rose by 24.2 and 43.5 points, respectively. DSE trading ends on a positive trend, index advanced by 16.89 points today On the CSE, 207 companies participated in trading. Of them, 106 companies recorded price gains, 68 companies saw declines, and 33 companies remained unchanged. At the CSE shares and units of 30.74 lakh were changed hands through 2424 transactions on Tuesday. The value of trading shares and units is Tk 6.34 crore, which was Tk 6.51 crore on the previous day (Monday).