DSEX crosses 6,500-level after 15-week

DSEX, the benchmark of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, gained for the sixth straight session and crossed 6,500-level after three and a half months.

On Thursday, it surged 51.39 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 6,508—its highest since May 12, 2022 when it was 6,565.  In the last six trading days, the DSEX gained about 228 points.

The rally was led by the banking, cement, ceramics, engineering, financial institutions, food and allied, fuel and power and general insurance sectors.

The blue-chip index DS30 edged up 10 points or 0.75 per cent to 2,305 while the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, rose 22 points or 0.98 per cent to 1,409.

The market remained bullish despite enthusiastic participation, as investors were more confident in placing new bets on major sector stocks, anticipating positive momentum in the future, according to dealers.

“The equity indices of the Dhaka bourse continued their gaining streak for the sixth consecutive sessions as buy dominance was prevalent across the bourse, which led the core index to cross the psychological threshold of 6,500 marks after nearly four months,” said EBL Securities in a note.

The market has been experiencing bullish momentum due to some positive recovery signs on the macroeconomic front, particularly forex market stability, declining imports, and easing of power supply, it said.

The DSE turnover was down 5.8 per cent to Tk 1,898 crore backed by the pharmaceutical sector that accounted for 14.8 per cent of the total turnover.

On the sectoral front, Pharma (14.8 per cent) issues exerted the highest turnover, followed by Textile (13.5 per cent) and Miscellaneous (12.5 per cent) stocks.

Almost all the sectors displayed positive returns, out of which Jute (7.2 per cent), Services (5 per cent), and Ceramic (3.4 per cent) exhibited the highest returns on the bourse today, while Travel (-0.7 per cent) and Life Insurance (-0.1 per cent) exerted some corrections.

Out of the 386 issues traded, 172 advanced, 131 declined, and 83 remained unchanged.

The port city bourse, CSE, also settled in positive territory. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) advanced by 91.2 and 150.3 points respectively.