Retailers trade at Dhaka Stock Exchange office. BBN file photo
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– Bangladesh’s stocks rebounded last week that ended on Thursday, snapping a two-week losing streak following supportive measures, taken by the authorities concerned.
The central bank’s market supportive measures which widened the banks’ scope to invest in the stock market, created hype among investors, according to market operators.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) recently issued a circular for exempting banks’ investments in non-listed companies from capital market exposure, a move that can give banks plenty of room for fresh investments in the stock market.
After the news, investors showed their buying appetite on banking sector’s shares amid expectation, they added.
The securities regulator’s decision that sponsor-directors of a listed company will not be allowed to sell shares if they fail to hold 30 per cent shares jointly, also made investors optimistic, he said.
The Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) also received BDT 7.60 billion last week from the central bank under the capital market refinancing scheme, which tenure extended until December 31, 2022.
The stockbroker noted that investors went on bargain hunting with an expectation that the market would turned around following the government moves.
The week saw five trading days as usual. Of them, the market closed positive three sessions while two sessions edged higher.
Week-on-week, DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 19.81 points or 0.37 per cent to settle the week at 5,250.
The investors’ gained some confidence resulting from a number of recent policy measures taken by the regulators, commented International Leasing Securities.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, also advanced 14.61 points to finish at 1,832. However, the DSE Shariah Index fell 4.66 points to close at 1,192.
The total turnover on the prime bourse stood at BDT 17.93 billion last week against BDT 14.61 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged BDT 3.51 billion, registering an increase of nearly 23 per cent over the previous week’s average of BDT 2.82 billion.
Block trade contributed 10.20 per cent to the week’s total turnover, where stocks like Al-Arafah Islami Bank, UCB, Exim Bank, AB Bank, Sonar Bangla Insurance and SK Trims dominated the block trade board.
Among the major sectors, engineering posted the highest gain of 6.02 per cent, followed by non-bank financial institutions with 2.23 per cent, power 0.86 per cent and banking 0.40 per cent.
The telecommunication sector witnessed the highest loss of 1.99 per cent, followed by pharmaceuticals with 0.13 per cent.
The market capitalisation of the DSE also rose 0.26 per cent to BDT 3,858 billion on Thursday, from BDT 3,848 billion in the week before.
Gainers outnumbered the losers, as out of 351 issues traded, 171 closed higher, 143 ended lower and 37 issues remained unchanged on the DSE floor.
BRAC Bank dominated the turnover chart, with 7.86 million shares worth BDT 799 million changing hands. The company accounted for 4.45 per cent of the week’s total turnover.
The other turnover leaders were Fortune Shoes, SK Trims Industries, United Power and IFIC Bank.
Global Insurance was the week’s best performer, posting a gain of 42.64 per cent while Rupali Life Insurance was the worst loser, losing 19.33 per cent.
On the other hand, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also returned to the green, with its CSE All Share Price Index — CASPI – advancing 40 points to settle at 16,041 and the Selective Categories Index — CSCX –gaining 21 points to finish at 9,708.
BBN/SSR/AD
