Stocks remain upbeat for second day

Dhaka stocks extended their gaining streak for the second consecutive trading session on Wednesday propelled by the buying behaviour of bargain hunters who chased down some sector-specific issues trading at lucrative prices.

The DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), advanced 23.48 points or 0.37 per cent to settle at 6,235 against 6,212 points in the previous trading session.

Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, surged 13.64 points or 0.62 per cent to close at 2,214, and the DSES, the Shariah-based index, added 10.75 points or 0.79 per cent to finish at 1,370.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka bourse witnessed a significant increase in participation with the turnover, another crucial market indicator, jumping by 34.5 per cent to Tk 4494 crore against Tk 3340 crore in the previous session.

The upbeat momentum in the market sustained throughout the session as the buying spree prevailed across the bourse with investors seeking quick-gaining opportunities on the back of the recent market corrections, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

But the opposite picture was also seen with majority of the scrips being stuck at the floor prices without having potential because investors were mainly concentrating on selective issues, it added.

As most of the stocks were stuck at their floor prices, it squeezed the liquidation opportunities for investors at the premier bourse, EBL Securities commented.

The IT sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 18.4 per cent to the total turnover, followed by pharma & chemicals (17.4 per cent) and miscellaneous (13.8 per cent) sectors.

Most of the sectors displayed positive returns at the Dhaka bourse with the life insurance sector suffering the most with a loss of 0.4 per cent, followed by the paper (0.3 per cent).

On the other hand, the jute sector posted the highest gain of 6.3 per cent, followed by the travel (3 per cent) and the IT (2.8 per cent).

Out of the 390 issues traded, 51 stocks advanced, 26 issues declined, and 313 scrips did not see any price movement on the DSE trading floor.

The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also closed lower yesterday with its two major indices – the selected indices (CSCX), and the all share price index (CASPI), advancing by 54.1 points and 89.6 points respectively.