Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s stocks registered a marginal gain on Wednesday amid sluggish trading activities, as investors showed their buying appetite on sector-specific issues.
The stocks rebounded after the news that the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) received BDT 7.60 billion on the day from the central bank under the capital market refinancing scheme, according to market operators.
The securities regulator's decision that sponsor-directors of a listed company will not be allowed to sell their shares if they fail to hold 30 per cent shares jointly, also made investors optimistic, said a leading broker.
Meanwhile, Runner Automobiles failed to attract investors after second day of its debut as its share prices fell 2.51 per cent to close at BDT 97.30 each on Wednesday.
The market opened on positive note and the prime index rose about 25 points within first 20 minutes of trading. However, half of the points eroded amid late hours selling pressure.
At the end of the session, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 14.10 points or 0.26 per cent to settle at 5,250, after losing 99 points in the past two sessions.
Two other indices also edged up. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 7.53 points to finish at 1,830 and the DSE Shariah Index rose 1.31 points to close at 1,196.
Turnover however, fell to BDT 2.90 billion, which was 17 per cent lower than the previous day's turnover of BDT 3.51 billion.
The investors took position on financial institutions, insurance, power, engineering, food and textile sectors stocks which helped index to close green, commented International Leasing Securities.
The non-bank financial institutions booked the highest gain of 0.82 per cent, followed by engineering 0.70 per cent, power 0.67 per cent and food 0.18 per cent.
Telecommunication and banking sectors suffered losses by 0.25 per cent and 0.06 per cent respectively.
The gainers took a strong lead over the losers as out of 342 issues traded, 191 advanced, 92 declined and 59 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Fortune Shoes topped the turnover chart with 4.49 million shares worth BDT 174 million changing hands.
The other turnover leaders were Brac Bank, JMI Syringes, United Power and Eastern Cables.
Global Insurance was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 9.61 per cent while Rupali Life Insurance was the worst loser, losing 7.15 per cent.
On the other hand, Chittagong Stock Exchange edged up with its CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -advancing 34 points to settle at 16,042 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX -gaining 17 points to finish at 9,709.
The gainers beat losers, as 119 issues closed higher, 72 ended lower and 36 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city bourse traded 4.39 million shares and mutual fund units worth BDT 147 million in turnover.
BBN/SSR/AD