Staff Correspondent

Dhaka stocks surged on Thursday riding on the hope that the government would launch special scheme within 10 days to offset losses of the small scale investors.

DGEN, the benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, gained 2.86 per cent, or 121.50 points, to close the day at 4,367.81 points.

Turnover of the bourse rose significantly to Tk 329.71 crore on Thursday from Tk 225.82 crore on the day before.

Finance minister Abul Maal Abul Muhith on Wednesday after a meeting with the stock market leaders, announced that a committee designed a special scheme to compensate losses of the investors following prolong stock depression.

Muhith also said that the government would come to a decision about the committee proposal within 10 days as it requires suggestion of different regulatory bodies.

Market operators said that Muhith’s announcement boosted the investors and they went into buying as they hope that government would come up with some solution to their problems.

Sources said that the special scheme committee proposed to waive interest of margin loan for the last one year and freeze interest for the current one.

The committee proposals also include allocation of some quota in the initial public offering for the investors under the scheme.

The committee also defined the small-scale investors as those who invested equal or less than Tk 10 lakh in the stock market.  

‘Investors hoped that the government will come up with an idea that would minimise their losses incurred in several market crashes in the last one year,’ said a stockbroker.

He said that perhaps some institutions or large scale individual investors became active on Wednesday which increased the turnover so rapidly.

A section of investors, however, remained skeptical about the special scheme as some of the government’s earlier moves for the capital market failed to bring any positive result.

Power and energy stocks became lucrative on Wednesday as the sector posted the day’s highest gain of 3.15 per cent, followed by pharmaceuticals stocks that gained by 2.95 per cent.

Telecommunication stocks with the only company GrameenPhone gained 2.83 per cent.

Non-bank financial institutions gained 2.51 per cent while the lowest gaining stocks of the day were bank stocks that only managed to advanced by 2.46 per sent despite holding the largest market capitalisation.