S Alam Steels, Shinepukur Ceramics lead weekly gainers amid business struggles

In a surprising turn of events, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels and Shinepukur Ceramics topped the gainers chart in the last week on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) despite facing significant operational and financial challenges.

According to the Dhaka bourse, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels, the only entity solely owned by the controversial S Alam Group, defied its ongoing struggles, with shares jumping 57% over the last week, closing at Tk15.40, despite the company's frozen bank accounts and LC hurdles.

Addressing the sharp rise in share price, the company, in response to a Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) query on Wednesday, stated that there is no undisclosed price-sensitive information behind the recent unusual price hike and increased trading volume.

Although the 2023–24 fiscal year ended nearly six months ago in June 2024, the company has yet to schedule a board of directors' meeting to disclose its annual financial statements.

The last financial data released by S Alam Cold Rolled Steels covered the first nine months of the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, Shinepukur Ceramics saw its share price surge by 31.43%, closing at Tk14.70. 

The rally comes amid government plans to sell Beximco's mortgaged shares in the company to settle worker dues and a Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) order for a special audit of its financial reports over the past five years.

While the rallies have sparked speculation among investors, analysts caution that the gains may be driven by short-term market dynamics rather than fundamental improvements. Both companies remain under scrutiny, with their long-term prospects still clouded by operational and financial uncertainties.

Among other top gainers traded under the B category, Golden Harvest shares surged by 18.58%, Intech Limited by 15.71%, Fu Wang Food by 14.93%, Far Chemical by 14.61%, and Golden Son by 11.11%.

Additionally, Western Marine, a Z-category stock, also made it to the gainers' chart, with its share price jumping 11.83% last week.

Weekly market

The benchmark index DSEX of the DSE closed at 5,200 points at the end of last week, showing a marginal decline from 5,201 points in the previous week.

Meanwhile, the blue-chip index DS30 dropped by 0.50%, settling at 1,910 points over the same period.

Market activity reflected mixed sentiment, with 159 stocks advancing, 203 declining, and 37 remaining unchanged. 

Despite the subdued performance of the indices, trading activity saw a notable uptick, as the daily average turnover surged by 12% to reach Tk470 crore, signalling increased investor participation in the market.

In its weekly market review, EBL Securities said that the benchmark index of the capital bourse ended on a flat note in the last week, as investors continued to take positions on certain speculative and December-closing scrips while also booking profits from the recently appreciated holdings to rebalance their portfolios. 

Despite the market witnessing a positive vibe at the beginning of last week riding on investors' buying interest in selective blue-chip scrips, selling pressure emerged later as investors opted to realize their short-term gains, causing the market to experience a slowdown in its recent positive momentum, it added.

However, buyers regained momentum in the last hour of the final trading session, leading the benchmark index to experience almost full recovery by the end of last week, EBL Securities noted.

Investors were mostly active in the textile sector, followed by the pharma sector and the bank sector.

Sectors ended in mixed with the life insurance sector being the highest gainer, while the non-bank financial institution sector being the most loser.