Stocks rally on growing investor optimism

After a long time of bearish run, Dhaka stocks rallied on Sunday as investor confidence started recovering across the trading floor owing to the price floor restriction to curb the price fall.

The DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), surged 36.5 points to settle at 6,250 against 6,214 points in the previous trading session.

Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, rose 9.55 points or 0.43 per cent to 2,225, and the DSES, the Shariah-based index, grew 5.63 points or 0.41 per cent to 1,362.

Meanwhile, the prime bourse witnessed a significant increase in investor participation, with the DSE turnover surged to a nearly 1 month-high yesterday.

The capital bourse’s turnover jumped 54.9 per cent to Tk 662 crore yesterday, against the turnover tally of Tk 427 crore in the previous trading session.

The market started on a positive note as investors started to inject fresh funds into equities with an anticipation of positive momentum in the market since the continuation of the floor price restrictions provided a safeguard against further capital erosion from the existing price level, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

The prolonged correction in the market posed lucrative investment opportunities, enticing the bargain hunters to take fresh bets in sector-specific issues after the recent regulatory stances to restore market confidence, it added.

The IT sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 15.3 per cent to the total turnover of the DSE, followed by the travel (13.7 per cent) and the pharma (9.1 per cent).

Almost all sectors displayed positive returns on the premier bourse’s trading floor, with the travel posting the return of 5.8 per cent, followed by jute (4.8 per cent) and services (4.2 per cent).

On the other hand, the mutual funds alone faced a slight correction of 0.2 per cent.

Bangladesh General Insurance Company Ltd topped the gainer list with a return of 9.9 per cent, while Union Capital Limited was the day’s worst sufferer with a loss of 10 per cent.

Out of the securities traded, 152 stocks surge, 14 issues declined, and 225 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) – rising by 70.9 points and 120.2 points respectively.