December 12, 2001	Wednesday	Ramazan 26, 1422

DHAKA, Dec 11: Shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) closed higher on Tuesday for a straight second session as small investors bought a wide range of stocks that fell during a recent bear spell, brokers said.

They said cheaper prices attracted small investors.

The DSE benchmark index rose 0.034 points or 0.00417 per cent to 817.6134.

Gainers led losers by 97 to 22 with 12 remaining unchanged.

The DSE-20 index of selected blue chips also rose 7.12 points or 0.66 per cent to 1,091.68.

The indices rose as the retailers concentrated on shares of food, information technology and textile sectors which were attractive in price terms, said Imtiyaz Husain of Imtiyaz Husain & co, a brokerage firm in private sector.

Bangladesh Online Limited, a leading stock in information technology, rose 8.69 per cent to 20 taka on 574,000 shares valued at $0.2 million.

The 10-taka share of the company was the volume leader on the day.

Keya Cosmetic, a manufacturer of cosmetics and toiletries, also rose 1.89 per cent to 16.1 taka on 333,000 shares valued at $0.09 million.

The 10-taka share of the company also rose 1.28 per cent on Monday.

The shares of both the companies were among the top traded shares of the day.

Tuesday’s overall turnover totalled $1.36 million, up $0.16 million from the previous trading session on Monday.

Some 3.42m shares were traded on the day against 2.92 million shares in the previous session.

Husain said shares might fall slightly under selling pressure ahead of Muslim Eid-ul-Fitr festival next week.—Reuters