Blue-chip stocks help market end higher

Withstanding the sale pressure, Dhaka stocks witnessed a turnaround on Tuesday as investors were pouring funds into selective large-cap securities which came out of their floor prices due to their impressive performance in the just concluded earnings quarter.

Investors especially the jittery investors in the past few sessions continued the short-term profit booking, and they were now adding blue-chips to their portfolios in hope of long-term gains, stockbrokers and analysts said.

The DSEX, the broad index of the premier bourse Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), jumped 11.9 points or 0.19 per cent to close at 6,273 against 6,261 in the previous trading session.

Turnover, another crucial market indicator, rose by 9.4 per cent to Tk 831 crore yesterday from the turnover tally of Tk 759 crore in the previous session.

Many large-cap shares broke their floor prices and those were now attracting buyers, stockbrokers said.

The market witnessed volatility throughout the session as cautious investors continued their profit booking and portfolio rebalancing amid recent macroeconomic concerns resulting in sale dominance across the trading floor, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker.

Nevertheless, the earnings recovery of major companies in the just concluded quarter bolstered confidence among investors, which triggered the increased market participation, leading the market to close higher, it added.

The IT sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 14.3 per cent of the total turnover of the DSE, followed by food (13.4 per cent) and pharma (11.9 per cent).

LafargeHolcim Bangladesh Limited was the day’s most traded stock with Tk 56 crore worth of its shares changing hands, followed by Intraco Refueling Station Limited, Agni Systems Ltd, Apex Foods Limited, and Gemini Sea Food Ltd.

Most sectors displayed mixed returns at the prime bourse, with the travel posting the highest gain of 4.4 per cent, followed by IT (3.1 per cent) and life insurance (1.0 per cent).

On the other hand, the jute faced the highest correction of 3.8 per cent, followed by paper (0.8 per cent) and, services (0.6 per cent).