Retailers trade at Dhaka Stock Exchange office. BBN file photo
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s stocks rebounded in the outgoing week, snapping a 13-week losing streak, as the securities regulator adopted a series of market-supportive measures.
The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) wiped out 775 points during the past 13 weeks, prompting aggrieved investors to take to the streets. They also staged a token hunger strike.
As the market situation spiralled out of control, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stepped in to resolve the crisis by holding meetings with the market regulator and the finance minister recently.
The government has also extended the tenure of the capital market refinancing scheme up to December 31, 2022, which also lifted the investor sentiment.
A notification in this connection was issued by the ministry of finance on Thursday.
The Prime Minister's assurance, and securities regulator's market-supportive measures, coupled with National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman's positive remarks helped cheer the stock prices, according to market experts.
They also said investors embarked on bargain hunting, expecting that the market would turn around following the government moves.
Also, disclosures of positive quarterly earnings by some of the companies during the week made investors buoyant in the last two sessions of the week, they added.
The week saw four trading days, instead of regular five sessions, as the market remained closed on Wednesday on the occasion of May Day.
The first two sessions saw sharp decline while the two other sessions posted hefty gains.
Week on week, DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 20.57 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 5,286 on Thursday, the last trading day of the week, after losing 775 points in the past 13 weeks.
Two other indices also edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 6.64 points to finish at 1,870 and the DSE Shariah Index rose 10 points to close at 1,225.
The optimistic investors showed their appetite for some large-cap stocks based on their quarterly earnings and year-end dividend declarations.
The total turnover stood at BDT 15.13 billion last week as against BDT 13.66 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged out at BDT 3.83 billion, registering an increase of 12.23 per cent over the previous week's average of BDT 3.41 billion.
Block trade contributed 5.50 per cent to the week's total turnover. Stocks like Square Pharma, Jamuna Bank, BRAC Bank, Mutual Trust Bank and Monno Jute Stafflers dominated the block trade board.
Large-cap sectors witnessed mixed performances. Among the major sectors, the power sector posted the highest gain of 3.02 per cent, followed by engineering (1.56 per cent), non-bank financial institutions (1.28 per cent) and pharmaceuticals (0.42 per cent).
The food sector saw the highest loss of 2.95 per cent, followed by telecommunications (1.70 per cent) and banking sector (0.84 per cent).
The market capitalisation of the DSE also fell 0.15 per cent to BDT 3,888 billion on Thursday from BDT 3,894 billion in the week before.
Gainers outnumbered the losers, as out of 350 issues traded, 214 closed higher, 110 ended lower and 26 issues remained unchanged on the DSE floor.
Fortune Shoes dominated the turnover chart, with 15.73 million shares worth BDT 1.28 billion changing hands. The company accounted for 3.83 per cent of the week's total turnover.
The other turnover leaders were National Polymer, Monno Ceramic, United Power and Genex Infosys.
Genex Infosys was the week's best performer, posting a gain of 22.76 per cent while Agrani Insurance was the worst loser, shedding 18.06 per cent.
On the other hand, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also returned to the green territory, with its CSE All Share Price Index -- CASPI - advancing 15 points to settle at 16,161 and the Selective Categories Index -- CSCX -gaining 15 points to finish at 9,784.
BBN/SSR/AD