United News of Bangladesh

Asian stock markets closed lower on Tuesday, led by a sharp fall in South Korean shares, even as AI-related stocks helped lift major US indexes overnight. Oil prices edged higher, while US stock futures showed mixed performance. South Korea's Kospi briefly plunged as much as 8% before recovering some ground to end the day down 4.9% at 7,656.31. Shares of Samsung Electronics dropped 7.7%, despite the company reporting a 19-fold jump in quarterly operating profit to 89.4 trillion won (about $58.7 billion) and more than doubling its revenue. Chipmaker SK Hynix also fell 6.7%. Kim Seok-hwan, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said Samsung's decline was mainly due to foreign investors taking profits after recent gains and adjusting their investment portfolios. Technology stocks linked to artificial intelligence have seen sharp swings in recent weeks as investors question whether the massive spending on AI chips and data centres will generate enough profits to justify the investments. Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said the market reaction to Samsung's strong earnings suggested investors were becoming more cautious about AI-related stocks. Investor sentiment will face another test this week as SK Hynix plans to raise $28 billion through a Nasdaq share offering in the United States. If successful, it would rank among the largest US stock offerings, following SpaceX's $75 billion IPO last month. Despite recent losses, SK Hynix shares have more than tripled this year on strong optimism over AI demand. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.1% to 68,256.96. Tokyo Electron lost 3.9%, while Kioxia Holdings dropped 11.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.7% to 23,444.20, while China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.3% to 3,990.25. Taiwan's Taiex lost 2.3%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.3%, while India's Sensex gained 0.5%. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% on Monday to 7,537.54, moving within 1% of its record high despite most of its listed stocks ending lower. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1% to 26,121.16, driven by gains in AI-related technology companies, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% to close at a record 53,055.91. Broadcom was among the biggest contributors to the S&P 500's gains after rising 3.7% on news of long-term agreements to supply silicon products to Apple. SpaceX fell 1% in its final trading session before joining the Nasdaq-100 index, a move expected to trigger buying by funds that track the benchmark. AI infrastructure company TeraWulf gained 4.9% after announcing a 20-year agreement with Anthropic to use its Kentucky data centre. The company expects the deal to generate about $19 billion in revenue as it shifts its business from bitcoin mining to high-performance computing. In energy markets, Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 84 cents to $72.83 a barrel, while US benchmark crude increased 73 cents to $69.28. Oil supply concerns resurfaced after the British military reported that a liquefied natural gas tanker caught fire off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz after being struck by a projectile early Tuesday. The latest attack highlighted continuing security risks in the strategic waterway, through which about one-fifth of the world's oil and natural gas trade once passed during peacetime. Iranian state television reported that the tanker was attacked after ignoring warnings but stopped short of claiming responsibility. In currency trading, the US dollar slipped to 162.01 Japanese yen from 162.09 yen, while the euro eased to $1.1431 from $1.1442.

Bangladesh's capital market closed the week on a cautious note on Thursday, with both Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) recording marginal index gains while the majority of listed companies saw their share prices decline. At the DSE, the benchmark DSEX index edged up by just one point, the blue-chip DS30 rose six points, while the Shariah-based DSES remained flat. This offered little comfort to investors as decliners significantly outnumbered gainers. Of the total companies traded on the DSE, 201 saw price falls against 131 gains, while 62 remained unchanged. Turnover also slipped with total transactions falling Tk 30 crore from the previous session to stand at Tk 806 crore, compared to Tk 836 crore the day before. In the block market, shares worth Tk 26 crore changed hands across 38 companies, with Al-Arafah Islami Bank PLC topping the block board at Tk 3.80 crore. Legacy Footwear Limited led the gainers' chart with a 6.25% price increase, while Premier Leasing and Finance Limited bore the steepest loss, shedding over 7% of its value. The CSE mirrored a similar trend, the CASPI gained nearly five points yet failed to reflect broader market health. Of the companies traded, 88 recorded price declines against 86 that advanced, while 34 remained unchanged. Daffodil Computers PLC surged nearly 10% to top the gainers' list, whereas Apex Tannery Limited shed close to 10% to finish at the bottom. Market analysts note that the divergence between index movements and broader price declines suggests selective buying in heavyweight stocks, with overall investor sentiment remaining subdued.

Trading at both the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chattogram Stock Exchange (CSE) remained upbeat on Monday, the second working day of the week, as key indices posted notable gains amid a rise in most share prices. During the first hour of trading, the DSE’s benchmark index, DSEX, advanced by 55 points. The Shariah-based DSES index gained 6 points, while the blue-chip DS30 index rose by 17 points. The turnover on the DSE crossed Tk 280 crore in the first hour, with prices of most listed securities moving upward. Of the traded companies, 323 recorded price gains, while 32 saw declines and 34 remained unchanged. Stocks advance at DSE, CSE in first half of trading The bullish trend was also evident at the Chattogram Stock Exchange.  The CSE’s broad-based index, CASPI, climbed by 30 points during the same period. At the CSE, prices rose for 67 companies, fell for 26, and remained unchanged for 19, while total turnover exceeded Tk 3 crore in shares and units.  

Trading at the country’s stock exchanges began on a strong note on Sunday, the first trading day of the week, with key indices posting sharp gains at both the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE). At the opening, the DSE’s benchmark index DSEX rose by 25 points. The Shariah-based DSES advanced 8 points, while the blue-chip index DS30 gained 3 points. Most stocks traded in the green as prices of 187 companies increased against declines in 138 companies, while shares of 63 companies remained unchanged. During the first half of the session, shares and units worth more than Tk 300 crore were traded at the DSE. Meanwhile, at the CSE, the overall index CASPI climbed by 100 points. The prices of 61 companies rose, while 30 declined and 15 remained unchanged. In the first half of trading, the CSE recorded transactions of shares and units worth around Tk 2.5 crore.