Stocks edge up amid slim turnover

Dhaka stocks managed to end the week’s last trading session staying afloat in green territory as investors continued to chase down sector-specific issues anticipating their better earnings in the coming quarter.

Meanwhile, majority of the securities faced corrections owing to investors’ portfolio rebalancing ahead of the upcoming earnings disclosures.

The DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, the premier bourse, inched up 2.1 points to settle at 6,293 against 6,291 in the previous trading session.

Among other indices, the Shariah-based DSES added 2.27 points or 0.16 per cent to close at 1,374, and the blue-chip index DS30 gained 2.0 points or 0.08 per cent to 2,230.

Meanwhile, the prime bourse witnessed a decrease in participation, with the DSE turnover falling by 20.9 per cent to Tk 505 crore against the tally of Tk 734 crore in the previous session.

The trading session began on a positive note but gradually lost its upward momentum as sell pressure got heavier due to the profit-booking tendency of some investors, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

Ultimately, the buying side ended up in the winning position following investors’ appetite for the purchase of some sector-specific issues which were expected to be somewhat immune to earnings volatility induced by recent macroeconomic adversities, it added.

The IT sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 20.4 per cent to the total turnover of the DSE, followed by the life insurance (15.1 per cent) and the pharma (11.3 per cent).

Most of the sectors displayed mixed returns on the DSE trading floor, with the travel gaining the most of 2.8 per cent, followed by life insurance (2.0 per cent) and paper (0.7%).

On the other hand, the jute sector suffered the most with a loss of 1.0 per cent, followed by miscellaneous (0.3 per cent) and general insurance (0.3 per cent).

Eastern Housing Limited topped the gainers’ list with a return of 9.9 per cent, while Intech Limited was the day’s worst sufferer with a loss of 16 per cent yesterday.

Out of the 391 issues traded, 38 securities advanced, 129 stocks declined, and 224 scrips did not see any movement on the DSE trading floor.

The port city bourse, CSE, also settled on green terrain, with its two major indices – the selected indices (CSCX) and the all-share price index (CASPI) – edging up by 10.7 points and 18.0 points respectively.