Dhaka stocks extend bullish trend, paper stocks buoyant

Stocks in Bangladesh extended the gaining streak for the third consecutive trading session on Thursday, thanks to investors who were injecting fresh funds in sector-specific issues that were trading at a lucrative price level after the recent bearish market.

Stocks from the paper sector outshined on the day helping the key index of the Dhaka bourse stay buoyant.

The DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), surged 33.64 points or 0.53 per cent to close at 6,377 against 6,344 points in the previous trading session.

Besides, the DSES, the Shariah-based index, added 9.45 points or 0.67 per cent to 1,402, and the DS30, the blue-chip index, advanced 16.65 points or 0.74 per cent to settle at 2,265.

Turnover, another crucial market indicator, shot up by 47.6 per cent to Tk 1,094 crore from the figure of Tk 741 crore in the previous session.

The market started on a positive note and continued the upbeat momentum throughout the session as investors’ confidence on the trading floor rebounded riding on the quick resolution of the stock purchase before cheque encashment, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

Many investors, however, remained watchful amidst gloomy earnings forecasts of the listed companies, triggered further by the ongoing macroeconomic adversities, it commented.

On the sectoral front, the paper sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 21 per cent to the total turnover, followed by pharma and chemicals (13.4 per cent), and miscellaneous (13.3 per cent) sector.

Most of the sectors displayed positive returns on the Dhaka bourse.

Of them, the paper sector posted the maximum gain of 6.4 per cent, followed by travel (3.6 per cent) and general insurance (1.3 per cent).

Out of the 388 issues traded, 73 advanced, 59 declined and 256 did not see any price movement.

The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also closed higher with its two major indices— the CSCX and the CASPI— advancing by 61.7 points and 121.6 points respectively.