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Stocks witnessed yet another positive session on Thursday as investors showed their buying appetite on tax review expectations.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,430, advancing 19.34 points or 0.35 per cent over the previous session.
Market insiders said tax review expectations coupled with June closing year-end earnings and dividend declarations prompted investors to inject fresh funds on stocks.
The Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed, among other, imposition of 15 per cent additional tax on retained earnings and reserves, if the amount exceeds 50 per cent of the paid-up capital of the company.
The finance minister also proposed imposition of 15 per cent tax on stock dividend to promote cash dividend as part of efforts to increase money flow into the stock market.
In the wake of strong criticism from market stakeholders, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman hinted at the possibility of reviewing the proposals announced in the budget for fiscal year (FY) 2019-20.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) also sent proposals to the NBR Tuesday, seeking tax on listed companies’ future reserves.
The possibility of revise the proposed tax on listed companies’ reserve and retained earnings made investors hopeful, said a leading broker.
Two other indices also ended higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 13.35 points to finish at 1,925 and the DSE Shariah Index gained 3.90 points to close at 1,245.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 5.17 billion, which was 20 per cent higher than the previous day’s turnover of Tk 4.31 billion.
A total number of 124,589 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with trading volume of 149.01 million securities.
The market capitalisation of the DSE also rose to Tk 4,004 billion on Thursday, from Tk 3,993 billion in the previous session.
The losers, however, took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 352 issues traded, 154 declined, 147 advanced, and 51 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Pragati Life Insurance was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 9.77 cent while Eastern Insurance was the worst loser, losing 7.02 per cent.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange, also ended higher with its CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI –advancing by 81 points to settle at 16,642 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX –gaining 49 points to finish at 10,086.
The gainers beat losers, as 134 issues closed higher, 88 lower and 46 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city bourse traded 12.04 million shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 438 million in turnover.