Stocks rebound amid thin trade

Dhaka stocks once again bounced back into green territory on Wednesday amid further sliding in the volume of trade, dealers said.

The benchmark DSEX index snapped a three-day fall, rising 30 points or 0.44 per cent to settle at 6,948, recovering from around 120 points lost in the previous three sessions.

Its junior partners the Shariah-based DSES index inched 3 points or 0.23 per cent up at 1,498 while the blue-chip DS30 index rose 14 points or 0.55 per cent at 2,550.

Trading volumes continued to narrow on the bourse as traders stayed off ahead of amidst the ongoing bearish vibe in order to avoid any potential correction.

The DSE turnover was more than 2 per cent lower to more than Tk 8,87 crore from Tk 9,08 crore seen in the previous session.

The turnover is lowest since December 29, 2021, when it was Tk 7,35 crore.

The companies that pulled up the market included British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company or BATBC (10 points), Beximco Ltd (3.7 points), Square Pharmaceuticals (3.12 points), Walton Hi-Tech Industries (2.82 points), Renata (2.16 points), Robi (1.48 points), Sonali Paper (1.27 points) and Delta Life Insurance (1.26 points).

“Dhaka stocks returned to the green territory, as investors’ participation in some large-cap issues helped equity indices to close higher,” said the EBL Securities in a note.

“Trading activities were sluggish as most investors are on the sidelines amidst the ongoing bearish vibe in order to avoid any potential correction,” it said.

Textile accounted for more than 16 per cent of the total turnover, followed by miscellaneous 14 per cent, engineering 13.6 per cent, and pharmaceuticals about 11 per cent.