Stocks rise on economic optimism, ease of political tension

Dhaka stocks ended higher on Sunday as optimistic investors were seeking quick gains by putting funds in the beaten-down issues after the concerns about possible political unrest eased to some extent in the country.

The pharma stocks helped the Dhaka bourse close positive as investors heavily chased down pharma issues in hope of quick returns.

The DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), advanced 11.73 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 6,239 against 6,228 points in the previous trading session.

Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, added 1.79 points or 0.08 per cent to close at 2,205, and the DSES, the Shariah-based index, gained 2.45 points or 0.17 per cent to finish at 1,364.

Meanwhile, the premier bourse witnessed a significant increase in participation with the turnover jumping by 40.3 per cent to Tk 414 crore against Tk 295 crore in the previous session.

The market maintained the positive momentum throughout the session with investors remaining active on both sides of the trading fence, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

Buyers, however, reined the trading floor as they opted to take fresh positions in selective issues which they perceived as an opportunity to harness short-term gains.

Moreover, the ease of some macroeconomic adversities including inflation, trade deficit along with the ease of fears regarding the resurgence of political movements somewhat positively impacted investors’ sentiment in the market, it stated.

The pharma & chemicals topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 28.6 per cent to the total turnover, followed by IT (14.1 per cent) and fuel & power (11.1 per cent) stocks.

Most of the sectors displayed positive returns at the prime bourse with the jute sector posting the highest gain of 7.1 per cent, followed by the IT (1.9 per cent) and the services (1.4 per cent).

On the other hand, on the tannery sector faced some correction.

Out of the 314 issues traded, 63 advanced, 8 declined, and 319 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also settled higher yesterday with its two major indices – the selected indices (CSCX), and the all share price index (CASPI) – advancing by 20 points and 33.1 points respectively.