Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Bangladesh’s stocks stayed upbeat for the three consecutive weeks that ended on Thursday as investors continued their buying binge on banks amid dividend expectation.
The week featured five trading sessions as usual.
Of them, four sessions closed positive while one saw mild correction.
The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went up by 29.65 points or 0.52 per cent to finish the week at 5,701.27 points.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 10 points or 0.49 per cent to settle at 2,059.63 points.
However, the DSE Shariah Index fell 1.10 points or 0.08 per cent to close at 1,311.08 points.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also edged higher with its Selective Categories Index, CSCX, advancing 76 points or 0.71 per cent to close at 10,729.42 points.
Lankabangla Securities, a stockbroker, said, “Index regained its positive momentum after an article published by a newspaper revealed private commercial banks’ earnings”.
Quoting the newspaper reports, the stockbroker noted that the private commercial banks saw 17.2 per cent growth in net profit last year, a development that will bring cheer for stock market investors.
International Leasing Securities, a stockbroker, said, “The market’s positive vibe was triggered by the newspaper reports of rising net profit of private commercial banks in 2016”.
The stockbroker noted that the shaky investors continued their profit taking mood whereas the active presence of the bargain hunters helped the benchmark index to cross 5,700 points after January 24, 2017.
“Investor’s concentration was remained on the banking sector issues expecting better dividends as most of the banks are yet to declare dividends,” said the stockbroker.
The total turnover for the week stood at BDT 51.88 billion on the premier bourse against BDT 53.71 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged at BDT 10.38 billion, which was 3.40 per cent lower than the previous week’s average of BDT 10.74 billion.
The gainers took a modest lead over the losers as out of 333 issues traded, 161 closed higher, 143 closed lower and 29 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
LankaBangla Finance dominated the DSE turnover chart for the third week in a row with 34.54 million shares of BDT 2.03 billion changing hands, followed by Beximco, Far Chemical Industries, IFIC Bank and Beximco Pharmaceuticals.
Tosrifa Industries was the week’s highest gainer, posting a 16.81 per cent gain, while RN Spinning Mills was the worst loser, slumping by 13.64 per cent following its price adjustment after record date.
BBN/SK/AD