DSEX climbs for second consecutive day

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) continued its upward trend for the second day as investors showed renewed buying interest in specific undervalued stocks with potential for short-term gains.

The benchmark DSEX index climbed 39 points to close at 5,355, while the DSE Shariah Index rose 5 points to 1,190, and the DS30 index increased 14 points to 1,986. 

Turnover at the DSE increased by 20%, reaching Tk576 crore from Tk480 crore compared to the previous session. Among the 386 stocks traded, 258 gained, 83 declined, and 45 remained unchanged.

The indices initially opened with an upward trend and continued to rise until the session's end.

Key stocks contributing to the rally included Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Robi Axiata, British American Tobacco Bangladesh, Jamuna Bank, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, BRAC Bank, Pubali Bank, Prime Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, and Grameenphone.

Aman Feed led the list of top gainers, followed by United Power Generation & Distribution, Confidence Cement, Doreen Power Generations & Systems, Genex Infosys, and Quasem Industries.

On the other hand, stocks of Tosrifa Industries, Runner Automobiles, First Finance, Global Heavy Chemicals, and Coppertech Industries Limited were among the biggest losers of the day.

EBL Securities, in its daily market commentary, noted that the capital bourse's benchmark index sustained its positive momentum as investors' buying interest remained prevalent. This optimism, coupled with media reports of an anticipated Tk3,000 crore sovereign-guaranteed loan to Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), somewhat helped restore market confidence. However, late-session profit-taking trimmed most of the early gains amid ongoing market uncertainty.

The market observed a topsy-turvy swing, with the core index in an uptrend until mid-session, with the intraday DSEX crossing the 5,400 mark. Subsequent sell pressure from risk-averse investors dragged down the indices again, eroding most of the early gains, according to the brokerage house commentary.

Sector-wise, banks saw the highest turnover at 17.2%, followed by pharmaceuticals at 14.1%, and general insurance at 10.8%. Most sectors showed positive returns, with paper stocks rising 3.3%, fuel and power up 2.8%, and jute up 2.1%. However, life insurance saw a slight decline of 0.4%.

Meanwhile, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) closed slightly in the green zone, with the CSCX and CASPI indices rising by 60.3 and 98.9 points, respectively. 

The turnover of the CSE stood at Tk9.10 crore. Among the 209 stocks traded, 130 gained, 59 declined, and 20 remained unchanged.