Dhaka stocks advanced slightly on Thursday after a two-day fall, but the turnover was low as most of the investors remained on the sideline amid economic worries in the country, market operators said.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, gained 6.87 points, or 0.11 per cent, and settled at 6,220.24 points after losing 30.19 points in the previous two trading sessions.
Market operators said that the market managed to end Thursday’s session in the green zone as some investors went for buying shares after a fall in share prices of a number of good performing companies.
However, share prices of more than two-thirds of the companies remained stuck in their floor prices, they said.
The floor price system which the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission introduced in July 2022 narrowed the access and exit options for investors, they said.
The regulator had later lifted the restriction on 169 companies and imposed a 1-per cent downward circuit breaker on them.
On March 1, the commission reinstated the floor price barrier on those companies.
The market operators said that investors were concerned about the ongoing economic worries, including inflation, rising external debts, foreign exchange market volatility, depleted foreign reserves, a growing trade deficit and energy crisis.
The turnover on the bourse decreased to Tk 483.99 crore on Thursday as against Tk 607.16 crore on Wednesday.
EBL Securities in its daily market commentary said that the benchmark index of the capital bourse managed to end the week staying afloat owing to the investors’ buying interest in sector-specific issues in anticipation of quick gains.
‘Buyers dominated the market since the recent corrections on the market created investment opportunities for quick gain-focused investors
who perceived some sector-specific issues trading at a lucrative price level as they preferred to chase selective issues with short-term gain potential over taking long-term positions in equities in the face of an unclear market outlook,’ it said.
General insurance, pharmaceuticals, IT, textile, and paper issues exerted the highest turnover on Thursday.
Out of the 314 issues traded, 50 advanced, 56 declined and 208 remained unchanged on the day.
Monno Agro, Sonali Pharma, City General Insurance, Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Spa, Eastern Housing, Anlimayarn Dyeing, JMI Hospital, Shinepukur Ceramics, ADN Telecom, and Al-Haj Textile were the top 10 gainers considering their closing prices on the day.
Meghna Life Insurance, Intech, Islami Commercial Insurance, Bengal Windsor, Meghna Pet Industries, Rupali Life Insurance, Delta Life Insurance, Chartered Life Insurance, Unilever Consumer Care, and Sonali Life Insurance were the top 10 losers considering their closing prices on the day.
The DS30 index also increased by 3.57 points to finish at 2,218.75 points and the DSE Shariah index increased by 3.12 points to close at 1,356.84 points on the day.
Rupali Life Insurance topped the turnover chart with its shares worth Tk 30.91 crore changing hands.
Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Spa, Olympic Industries, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, ADN Telecom, Genex Infosys, Meghna Life Insurance, Aamra Networks, Shinepukur Ceramics, and Al-Haj Textile were the other turnover leaders on the day.
Source: The New Age, a Dhaka based Newspaper.
