Stocks rebound after five-day slide
The blue-chip index, DS30, increased by 9 points to 2,106 points
Dhaka stocks rebounded on Wednesday after five days of decline as the investors showed their buying appetite in two specific scripts — British American Tobacco (BAT) Bangladesh and Grameenphone.
The prime index of the bourse, DSEX, increased by 35 points to 6,166 points. The two companies contributed to a 28-point recovery in the DSEX. BAT Bangladesh was responsible for 21 points of the rise, while Grameenphone accounted for the remaining 7 points.
BAT Bangladesh's share price witnessed a 6.60% increase, closing at Tk469.9, up from Tk440.8 in the previous session. Its market capitalisation increased by Tk1,571 crore to stand at Tk25,374.6 crore at the end of the session.
Grameenphone's share price rose by 1.62% to Tk256.7 from Tk252.60 compared to the previous session. Its market capitalisation increased by Tk553.6 crore to stand at Tk34,108.6 crore at the day's closing.
The blue-chip index, DS30, increased by 9 points to 2,106 points while the shariah-compliant stocks' index, DSES, was up by 3 points to 1,343 points.
The turnover, however, dropped by 13.43% to Tk730.39 crore from Tk843.73 crore compared to the previous sessions.
Of the total scrips traded, 176 advanced, 155 declined and 65 were unchanged.
Paramount Insurance and BAT Bangladesh topped the DSE gainer list followed by Shasha Denims, Golden Son, Saiham Cotton Mills, Sunlife Insurance Company, Aftab Automobiles, and Crystal Insurance Company.
On the other hand, First Finance and Bangladesh Industrial Fin topped the DSE loser list followed by Mithun Knitting and Dyeing, BD Thai Aluminium and Intech Limited.
The top most-traded stocks were Fu-Wang Ceramic Industries, Fortune Shoes, Aftab Automobiles, and Central Pharmaceuticals.
EBL Securities in its daily market commentary said that the equity indices of the Dhaka bourse turned positive, recovering from the intense selling pressure experienced in the previous sessions, as bargain hunters took control of the trading floor and collected blue-chip companies' shares deemed to be trading at lucrative valuations.
Market recovery was aided by the price appreciation of large-cap stocks namely GP and BATBC, as investors sought to accumulate these undervalued stocks at attractive price levels, leading to an increase in the core index, the brokerage house said.
On the sectoral front, pharma stocks contributed the highest 16.4% to the day's turnover, followed by textile 14.3% and engineering adding 13%.
Most sectors showed positive returns, with the food sector leading the way with a gain of 4.4%. General insurance and telecom followed closely behind, rising 1.2% and 1.1% respectively. Conversely, the travel, engineering, and service sectors saw the weakest performance, with returns of 1.2%, 0.9%, and 0.7%, respectively.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also settled on green terrain. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) advanced by 30.1 and 49.9 points, respectively.