Investors’ optimism leads stocks to end higher for 3rd day

Dhaka stocks remained upbeat on Thursday for the third consecutive trading session, as investors continued to chase down the recently beaten-down issues aiming to book quick gains.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), added 9.43 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 6,245 against 6,236 points in the previous trading session.

Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, edged up 1.8 points or 0.08 per cent to close at 2,216, and the DSES, the Shariah-based index, gained 0.13 points or 0.009 per cent to finish at 1,370.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka bourse witnessed a slight increase in participation with turnover, another crucial market indicator, rising by 7.9 per cent to Tk 485 crore against Tk 450 crore in the previous session.

The market witnessed some see-saw actions, while buyers ended up in the dominant position as bargain hunters opted to take advantage of the recent corrections in the market, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

However, liquidation opportunities squeezed as a majority of scrips remained stuck at their floor prices, prompting the cautious investors to remain watchful on the trading floor, it added.

The pharma & chemicals sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 24.9 per cent to the total turnover, followed by the IT (17.1 per cent) and the miscellaneous (13.4 per cent) sectors.

Most of the sectors displayed positive returns at the premier bourse yesterday.

Of them, the paper sector posted the highest gain of 3.5 per cent, followed by life insurance (1 per cent) and tannery (0.6 per cent).

On the other hand, the travel sector suffered the most with a loss of 1.3 per cent, followed by jute (0.9 per cent) and IT (0.6 per cent).

Out of the 390 issues traded, 63 stocks advanced, 22 issues declined, and scrips 305 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also closed higher yesterday with its two major indices – the selected indices (CSCX) and the all share price index (CASPI), advancing by 7.2 points and 11.1 points respectively.