Stocks rally, turnover up 14%

Snapping three days of corrections, Dhaka stocks rallied on Tuesday, as investors considered some sector-specific stocks lucrative to invest, while the recent market corrections enticed investors to pour funds into some beaten-down securities.

The general insurance sector helped the most for the turnaround of the market, because many non-life insurers recently announced handsome cash dividends for the year 2022, which were enough to make investors optimistic opt the sector for investment decision, analysts said.

Meanwhile, some small-cap and selected stocks, which suffered in time of the recent market corrections, were in focus as well which the investors regarded lucrative because of profit-booking potential, they stated.

DSEX, the key index of the prime bourse Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), jumped 17.1 points to settle at 6277 against 6260 in the previous trading session.

Among other indices, the DS30, the blue-chip index, added 7.5 points to finish the session at 2193, while the DSES, the Shariah-compliant index, rose 2.3 points to close at 1368.

Turnover, another crucial market indicator, rose by 13.9 per cent to Tk 744 crore, against the turnover tally of Tk 653 crore in the previous session.

In terms of the portfolio rebalancing, investors considered the insurance sector the best option in hope of dividend yields, and many insurance stocks were oversold yesterday, helping the key index drift higher.

The food and allied sector topped the turnover chart with a contribution of 14.1 per cent of the total turnover of the DSE, followed by textile (10.8 per cent), and fuel & power (9.4 per cent).

The market experienced an uptrend throughout the session with growing investor participation since the recent market corrections created some short-term gaining opportunities in selective scrips, enticing bargain hunters to become active on the trading floor, said EBL Securities, a stockbroker.

Most sectors displayed positive returns at the capital bourse, with the travel posting the highest gain of 5.4 per cent, followed by IT (1.2 per cent) and life insurance (1.0 per cent).