Stocks turn positive amid sagging turnover

After five sessions of sags, Dhaka stocks edged up on Tuesday as the last-hour buying appetite on some large-cap issues helped the key index enter into the green territory.

Turnover, another crucial market indicator, however, crumpled in the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the prime bourse in the country.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the DSE, edged up by 2.11 points or 0.03 per cent to settle at 6,392 against 6,390 points in the previous trading session.

The DSES, the Shariah-based index, lost 0.52 points or 0.03 per cent to 1,407, while the DS30, the blue-chip index gained 6.64 points or 0.29 per cent to close at 2,277.

The DSE turnover on Thursday dropped to Tk 975 crore, which was the lowest in the last 2 months, and 17.2 per cent down versus the figure of Tk 1178.7 crore in the previous session.

The equity indices of the Dhaka bourse managed to remain afloat in the green territory riding on the last-hour buying appetite on some large-cap issues that were trading at a lucrative price level following the constant price corrections throughout the week, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

The market witnessed a mixed performance as investors’ selling pressure was prevalent throughout the session, while the late-hour optimism helped the core index turn positive, it commented.

Most of the investors, however, were reluctant to take fresh moves towards equities, fueled by the fears of a bleak economic outlook, EBL Securities stated.

Moreover, the majority of scrips staying at their floor prices without potential buyers also intensified investors’ concerns.

On the sectoral front, miscellaneous topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 18.5 per cent to the total turnover, followed by the pharma and chemicals (17.9 per cent) and engineering (17.6 per cent) sectors.

Most of the sectors displayed mixed returns in the premier bourse, out of which the paper sector posted the highest returns of 2 per cent, followed by travel (0.6%) and miscellaneous (0.5%).

On the other hand, the jute sector suffered the most with a loss of 4.9 per cent, followed by services (1.2 per cent) and cement (1 per cent).

Out of the 388 issues traded, 60 stocks advanced, 78 scrips declined, and 250 issues did not see any price movement on the trading floor of the Dhaka Stock Exchange.