Stocks buoyant, DSEX hits 1.5-month high

Dhaka stocks flied in the first trading session after the Eid holiday as investors’ buying appetite has been restored due to corporate earnings recovery in the latest quarter after the ease of macroeconomic adversities.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), surged 23.5 points to settle at 6,252, a 1.5-month high.

Turnover, another crucial market indicator, however, declined by 1.1 per cent to Tk 552 crore against the turnover tally of Tk 558 crore in the previous session.

The travel sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 18.6 per cent of the total turnover of the DSE, followed by IT (16.6 per cent) and food and allied (14.3 per cent).

Unique Hotel & Resorts PLC was the day’s most traded stock with Tk 56 crore worth of shares changing hands, followed by Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa Limited, and Apex Footwear Limited.

The market remained upbeat throughout the session, with a dominant buying trend observed in sector-specific stocks that either reported or are expected to report improved financial results following the overall stability of the macroeconomic environment, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its daily market review.

Most sectors displayed positive returns, out of which the jute posted the highest gain of 7.4 per cent, followed by travel (5.8 per cent) and cement (1.1 per cent).

Out of the issues traded, 88 advanced, 37 declined and 267 remained unchanged.

Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Ltd topped the gainer chart with a return of 9.9 per cent, while Midland Bank Limited was the day’s worst sufferer with a loss of 5.2 per cent.

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) – advanced by 37.8 points and 62.8 points respectively.