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Dhaka stocks managed to stay afloat on Wednesday as investors continued to chase down sector-specific issues in the hope of quick gains.
The bargain hunters after a long time started pouring funds in some sector-specific securities since Tuesday which were also seen yesterday.
Their confidence restored because many sector-specific securities were being trading at a lucrative price level after the recent bearish market trend.
The DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the country’s premier bourse, inched up by 4.2 points to settle at 6,210 against 6,205 points in the previous trading session.
Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, rose 1.17 points or 0.05 per cent to close at 2,198, and the DSES, the Shariah-based index, gained 0.45 points or 0.03 per cent to 1,357.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka bourse witnessed a significant increase in participation with the DSE turnover hitting the one-month high yesterday.
The prime bourse’s turnover surged by 15 per cent to Tk 532 crore yesterday versus Tk 462 crore in the previous session.
The market observed see-saw trading operations with sellers dominating the market from mid-session since cautious investors perceived every bounce back as an opportunity to liquidate their positions amid the prolonged bearish sentiment in the market, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.
However, investors’ buying behavior in selective issues propped up the core index and helped it stay afloat by the end of the session, it added.
The cautious investors, however, were still observing the market momentum in the face of a bleak outlook of the economy and dismal performance forecasts of the majority of listed companies.
The pharma sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 21.7 per cent to the total turnover, followed by the IT (12.6 per cent) and the life insurance (10.7 per cent).
Most of the sectors displayed mixed returns at the DSE with the travel sector posting the highest gain of 4.3 per cent, followed by life insurance (1.2 per cent) and paper (0.8 per cent).
On the other hand, the jute sector suffered the most with a loss of 1.0 per cent, followed by general insurance (0.4 per cent) and ceramic (0.3 per cent).
Pragati Life Insurance Ltd topped the DSE’s gainers’ list with a return of 7.5 per cent, while Kohinoor Chemicals Company (Bangladesh) Ltd was the day’s worst sufferer with a loss of 2.6 per cent.
Out of the issues traded, 40 securities advanced, 127 stocks declined, and 224 scrips did not see any trading movement on the DSE trading floor.