Large-cap stocks help market return to green

After a three-day fall, Dhaka stocks returned to an upward trend Wednesday as opportunist investors chased down selective issues trading at lucrative prices after corrections.

Despite the market remaining unsteady throughout the session, price appreciation in selective large-cap stocks, particularly the Beximco stocks, helped the market close higher.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) added 7.34 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 6,496.

Besides, the DSES, the Shariah-based index, gained 2.15 points or 0.15 per cent to close at 1,415, and the DS30, the blue-chip index rose 6.71 points or 0.29 per cent to 2,323.

Turnover, another crucial market indicator, stood at Tk 1484.5 crore in the premier bourse, which was 0.6 per cent lower than the figure of Tk 1494.1 crore in the previous session.

The equity indices of the DSE managed to stay afloat in green territory, backed by the price appreciation in selective large-cap stocks, particularly the Beximco stocks, while other stocks extended their corrections, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

The market witnessed swings throughout the session, while buyers had a tiny edge over sellers at the end of the session as opportunist investors chased down selective stocks trading at lucrative prices, it commented.

However, cautious investors remained watchful since recent market corrections sank the majority of the stocks to the floor prices, stated EBL Securities.

On the sectoral front, miscellaneous topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 19.4 per cent to the total turnover, followed by pharma and chemical (16.3 per cent) and engineering (9.5 per cent).

On the other hand, the travel sector, paper, and IT faced the highest corrections, while ceramic, miscellaneous, and financial institutions exhibited the most positive returns on the Dhaka bourse.

Out of the 387 issues traded, 71 stocks advanced, 114 scrips declined, and 202 issues did not see any price movement.

Meanwhile, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), the port city bourse, also closed higher on the day, with the CSCX and the CASPI gaining 10 points and 16.5 points respectively.