Stocks
“New Mandate for Block Trades in the Bourses”
The stock market regulator BSEC, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission relaxes the conditions of trades in the block market. Investors can trade shares in blocks for two to three lakh takas. This information is known from BSEC sources.
Also, BSEC sources said that the rumors about the withdrawal of floor price or the imposition of a minimum limit of price reduction of more than 1 percent are not correct.
It is known that according to the rules of BSEC, in the case of trades in the block, at least five lakhs of shares have to be exchanged. However, the regulatory body has decided to relax this condition to increase trades in the block. Instead of five lakh taka, the block trades will be kept at two or three lakh taka. BSEC will issue an order in this regard soon.
In the meantime, most shares in the stock market are now stuck at the floor price set by the regulator. As the share price of these companies is stuck at the floor price, there is no trading of shares. On the other hand, shares can be traded at 10 percent less than the floor price in blocks from the main market. As most of the stocks with good fundamentals are now stuck at the floor price, relaxation of the Tk 5 lakh condition in the block may increase the volume of trades in the market.
Previous year July, mistrust in the stock market took an extreme form. The main index of Dhaka Stock Exchange fell on 14 working days out of 19 working days of July. Out of this, DSE fell for 9 consecutive working days from July 12. The prices of hundreds of companies are falling every day. On July 28, ‘DSE X’ dropped to 5,000. In such situation, the regulatory agency Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission issued a floor price in the stock market again on July 28 to prevent the continuous price fall. The floor price is determined as the average of the five-day closing prices of all securities.
There was some relief in the stock market after setting the lowest price for the shares. The big jump in the index was on the next working day (July 31) after the floor price was issued. Of the 382 companies that participated in the transaction, 362 shares rose. The index added 153.45 points. And the market capitalization increased by Tk 21 thousand crores in the first week of the floor price issue.
In September, the trend of index jumps continues to decline. The volume of share trades also dropped. As again, the regulator allowed the sale of shares at a price 10 percent lower than the floor price in the block on November 15. After that, the volume of trades in the block started to increase. Among them, about 52 percent of the total trades in the Dhaka Stock Exchange on December 27 were occupied by blocks which results if the trades conditions are relaxed in the block, the speed of share trades in the market may increase. Therefore, BSEC is offering block trades for two or three lakh taka.
One of the Listed companies, AB Bank PLC has recommended 2% Bonus Dividend for the year ended December 31, 2023.
In terms of financial performance, The Company has also reported Consolidated EPS of Tk. 1.02 for the year ended December 31, 2023. NAV per share of Tk. 29.58 paisa.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company will be held on June 12, through the digital platform. The record date for this has been fixed at May 26.
Q1 Financials: The company’s Consolidated earnings per share EPS was Tk. 0.12 for January – March 2024 as against Consolidated EPS of Tk 0.13 (restated) for January – March 2023. As of March 31, 2024, Consolidated net asset value (NAVPS) was Tk 29.67 paisa.
The review of the U.S. stock markets highlights a mixed performance across different indices during the week. While the Nasdaq Composite recorded a significant hike, reaching a closing value of 16,156 points, the S&P 500 index showed a negative trend despite adding 28 points.
Conversely, the DJIA Index experienced a notable hike, concluding at 38,675 points after a week of gains. The Russell 3000 Index saw a modest gain, while the Russell 2000 Index demonstrated a notable increase. Overall, the week witnessed varied movements in the stock market, with certain indices showing resilience and others experiencing fluctuations.
Reviewing the U.S. Stock Markets, the Nasdaq Composite, recorded a decent hike of 229 points, reaching a closing value of 16,156 points by the end of the week. Similarly, the S&P 500 index showed a negative trend, adding 28 points to settle at 5,127 points. Meanwhile, DJIA Index experienced a notable hike, adding 436 points during the week and concluding at 38,675 points after a week of gain.
In contrast, Russell 3000 Index saw a gain in week performance, with a slight hike of 18 points to reach 2,934 points by the end of the week.
Moving to Russell 2000 Index, demonstrated a notable gain of 33 points, ending the week at 2,035 points.
In the Outgoing week, the European stock market displayed a losing performance.
Here is the data on the weekly performance of the European Stock Market, The STOXX Europe 600 index, which is considered a leading benchmark for the European market and covers approximately 90 percent of the market capitalization across 17 countries, reported a slight drops of 2.45 points to close at 505.53.
The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100, one of the most widely followed indices in Europe, also showed a significant surge, adding 74 points or finishing the session at 8,213.
In Germany, the DAX 30 index, losing by 160 points to reach 18,001, while France’s CAC 40 decreased by 131 points to stop at 7,957 at the end of the trading day.
Italy’s FTSE MIB, which covers the top 40 stocks traded on the Milan Stock Exchange, decreased by 620 points to 33,629. However, Spain’s IBEX 35, fell by 300 points, to close at 10,854.
