BANGLADESH

The country's premier bourse started off the week with an uptrend as prices of most shares and mutual funds gained in the initial hours of trading on Sunday.

Prices of 237 issues rose and eight declined in the Tk 1.46 billion exchange that occurred until 12.48 am. The general index (DGEN) was pushed up by 196.06 points or 4.89 percent to stand at 4206.85 points by then.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended last week, despite undergoing topsy-turvy trading all through, with a 201.03 or 5.28 percent rise on the last day.

The previous week saw a number of potholes, with the general index losing 5.96 percent on the opening Monday and a 3.44 percent on Wednesday.

Monday's fall created a new record with the DGEN plummeting to a new low of 3616.24 points - the lowest it has touched so far since December 2010.

However, the rise on Thursday and an above 9 percent hike on Tuesday saw the week closing at 4010.8 points, gaining around 165 points.

Although the market stabilised a little in December 2011 after market regulator SEC declared a package of incentives, the stocks started taking a battering from the first week of the new year.