Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Bangladesh’s stocks ended higher for the third session in a row on Thursday, as enthusiastic investors continued on buying spree on large-cap stocks amid optimism.
Market insiders said favorable macro-economic indicators coupled with persistent positive market scenario continued to lure the sideline investors, taking the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) to fresh 23 months’ high.
The market opened with an optimistic note in the morning, gaining more than 30 points to reach at 4,937 points within first five minutes of trading.
After 20 minutes of trading it stands at 4907, eroding some early gains as a section of investor booked marginal gain on their holdings.
But, rest of the session the market sentiments remained high and went up steadily amid increased participation from investors.
DHAKA STOCK EXCHANGE:
At the end of the session, DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 18.80 points or 0.38 percent to settle at 23 months’ high at 4,925.72 points, which was the highest level of DSEX since January 15, 2015, when DSEX was 4,956.09.
The two other indices also closed higher.
The DS30 comprising blue chips soared 8.65 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 1,806.00 points.
The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) rose 3.15 points or 0.26 percent to close at 1,172.18 points.
Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, remained above BDT 10 billion level and amounted to BDT 10.23 billion, which was 4.0 percent lower than the previous day’s BDT 10.65 billion.
However, the losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 321 issues traded, 155 closed lower, 118 higher and 48 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Following the acquisition news, Lafarge Surma Cement dominated the DSE turnover with about 14.42 million shares of BDT 776 million changing hands, with 6.28 percent price return to close at BDT 88 each.
Islamic Finance and Investments was also the day’s highest gainer, posting a 9.82 percent rise, while Western Marine Shipyard was the worst loser, slumping by 4.86 percent.
CHITTAGONG STOCK EXCHANGE:
The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also ended higher with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – advancing 13.03 points to settle at 9,163.94 points.
Losers beat gainers as 137 issues closed lower, 83 closed higher and 32 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 25.16 million shares and mutual fund units’ worth over Tk 946 million in turnover.
BBN/SS/AD