United News of Bangladesh

Trading at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) crossed Tk 600 crore after nearly two months on Tuesday (January 20, 2026), with turnover reaching Tk 669 crore, the highest single-day volume in about three and a half months amid a continued rise in indices. The market opened on a positive note on the third trading day of the week, extending gains seen over the past few sessions. Improved sentiment lifted share trading throughout the day, pushing total turnover to Tk 669 crore, the first time in 2026 that daily transactions returned to the Tk 600 crore range. Previously, the DSE last saw turnover above Tk 600 crore on November 25, 2025, when transactions stood at Tk 636 crore. Following a prolonged downturn, daily turnover over the past two months had largely hovered between Tk 300 crore to Tk 400 crore. Tuesday’s figure was the highest since October 7, 2025. The benchmark DSEX index advanced 17 points, while the Shariah-based DSES rose 7 points and the blue-chip DS30 gained 5 points. Read more: Stocks open mixed as DSE advances, CSE slips Gainers outnumbered losers, with prices rising for 210 companies against declines in 109, while 69 issues remained unchanged. In the block market, shares worth Tk 32 crore from 21 companies were traded, led by Orion Infusion with transactions amounting to Tk 13 crore. Daffodil Computers PLC topped the DSE gainers’ list with a near 10 percent rise, while Apex Tannery Limited was the day’s worst performer, shedding 5 percent. The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher, with its general index CASPI climbing 43 points. Read more: Stocks advance at DSE, CSE in early trading At the CSE, prices advanced for 102 companies, declined for 55, and remained unchanged for 25. The turnover, however, dipped to Tk 10 crore from Tk 12 crore in the previous session. Janata Insurance PLC surged nearly 10 percent to lead the gainers at the CSE, while EBL NRB Mutual Fund fell about 8 percent to close at the bottom of the board.

Trading on the country’s two major stock exchanges began on a positive note on Tuesday (November 18), with key indices posting significant gains in the first hour. At the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the benchmark DSEX index advanced by 82 points in early trading. The Shariah-based DSES gained 19 points, while the blue-chip DS30 index rose by 26 points. Of the 346 issues traded during the first hour, prices increased for most securities: 346 advanced, 11 declined, and 13 remained unchanged. Read more: Trading of five Sharia banks halted at Bangladesh’s stock market The turnover at the DSE exceeded Tk 240 crore during the period. The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also saw an upbeat start, with its overall index climbing 85 points. Among the 106 issues traded, 85 recorded price increases, 12 declined, and 9 remained unchanged. The turnover at the CSE crossed Tk 5 crore in the first hour of trading. Read more: DSE opens week with fresh decline

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.