The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Bangladesh’s premier bourse, experienced a sharp downturn on Sunday, the first trading session of the week, as the benchmark index, DSEX, shed 44.5 points. This follows a 26-point loss recorded in the previous session on Thursday, July 16.
Despite the prevailing bearish sentiment across the broader market, a small group of nine companies and mutual funds bucked the trend, hitting their respective upper circuit limits—the maximum permissible price increase allowed by the exchange for a single day.
Market Performance and Key Gainers
Market analysts observed that the stocks hitting the “upper circuit” were predominantly mutual funds and low-priced financial institutions, some of which are currently categorized under the ‘Z’ category. Investors appeared to be shifting their interest toward these low-value scrips, resulting in significant price surges even as the overall market corrected.
The top gainers in the session included:
| Company/Fund | Price Increase (%) | Closing Price (Tk) |
| Green Delta Mutual Fund | 10.00% | 4.40 |
| United Insurance | 9.81% | 52.60 |
| DBH First Mutual Fund | 9.62% | 5.70 |
| NCCBL Mutual Fund-1 | 8.93% | 6.10 |
| MBL First Mutual Fund | 8.70% | 5.00 |
| Fareast Finance & Investment | 8.33% | 1.30 |
| International Leasing (ILFSL) | 8.33% | 1.30 |
| FAS Finance & Investment | 7.69% | 1.40 |
| People’s Leasing (PLFSL) | 7.69% | 1.40 |
Notable Activity
Green Delta Mutual Fund led the pack, with its unit price rising by 10% to Tk 4.40. Throughout the session, approximately 3.04 million units of the fund were traded, generating a turnover of roughly Tk 1.30 crore. United Insurance also saw robust activity, with 1.49 million shares changing hands, totaling a transaction value of approximately Tk 7.84 crore.
Market Outlook
While the broader market remains under pressure, the surge in these specific stocks reflects a speculative appetite among some market participants who are favoring low-priced assets during times of volatility.
Market experts suggest that the trend of investors gravitating toward low-priced, often troubled, financial institutions highlights a divergence in the market, where a lack of confidence in blue-chip stocks is driving capital toward high-risk, high-volatility segments. As the DSEX continues to slide, regulators and investors remain cautious about the sustainability of these localized rallies.
