January 12, 2003	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 8, 1423

DHAKA, Jan 11: Dhaka stocks rose on Saturday as retail investors bought shares which fell in recent sessions on Iraq war concerns, brokers said.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) benchmark index fell 0.72 per cent or 6.0 points to 830.88.

Gainers outnumbered losers by 125 to 15 with 17 stocks unchanged, the DSE said in a statement.

Brokers said a war would affect Bangladesh because it depends largely on remittances from its expatriate workers in the Middle East, from where it also imports crude oil and petroleum products.

“The index rose as investors bought shares which were attractive price-wise following recent falls,” said Abul Kalam Azad of SAR Securities, a private brokerage firm.

BD Com On Line Limited, a leading information technology company, rose 1.53 per cent to 13.20 taka on 258,000 shares valued at 3.42m taka ($58,767).

Gachihata Acquaculture gained 3.61 per cent to 43.00 taka on 91,850 shares valued at 3.93 million taka.

Saturday’s overall turnover totalled 62.62 million taka ($1.08 million), down 0.29 million taka from the previous trading session on Thursday. Friday is the weekend in Muslim Bangladesh.

A total of 2.53 million shares changed hands on the day compared with 2.68 million previously.—Reuters