Bourses post marginal gains

Stocks managed to close in positive territory yesterday, with increasing investors' participation in sector-specific stocks.

The key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, went up 18 points or 0.4 percent to close the day at 4,511 points.

DSES, the Shariah-based index, gained 3 points or 0.3 percent to settle at 1,034 points while DS30, the blue-chip index, inched up 2 points or 0.2 percent to stand at 1,544 points.

At the port city bourse, CASPI – the benchmark index – posted a gain of 60 points or 0.4 percent to close at 13,716 points.

The market displayed an upward momentum during the early hours of trade yesterday and continued the positive outlook till the end of the session.

Indices scaled up as investors opted for bargain hunting on sector-specific stocks ahead of the upcoming earning disclosure, according to the Daily Market Review of EBL Securities Ltd.

Investors took position on food and allied, cement and pharmaceutical stocks which led the market to close higher, the report added.

Participation of investors advanced 16 percent yesterday and settled at Tk467.5 crore turnover value, from Tk404.6 crore in the preceding session.

Engineering stocks contributed the highest, 17.3 percent, to the total turnover value, followed by pharmaceutical stocks, adding 11 percent, and textile stocks, adding 10.8 percent.

Most of the sectors registered price appreciation yesterday, with jute witnessing the highest gain of 6.8 percent.

The telecom sector exhibited the highest price erosion of 1.9 percent in the sector return board, followed by a 0.8 percent price slide in the financial institutions sector.

Among the other large-cap sectors, banks posted a gain of 0.2 percent while pharmaceuticals gained 0.4 percent price.

The price correction of the telecom sector was explained by Grameenphone's latest dividend declaration that was below investors' expectation, according to the Daily Market Review of UCB Capital Management Ltd.

The company's board of directors have declared 130 percent full year cash dividend for the year 2019, down from 280 percent in the previous year.

Analysts told The Business Standard that the telecom giant has reduced the percentage of cash dividend in order to cater to its tax requirements.

Grameenphone has also reported earnings per share (EPS) of Tk25.6 for the year ended December 31, 2019 as against Tk24.7 for the same period in the previous year.

Analysts further hinted that investors expected more than this 3.4 percent year on year growth of EPS which led the 2 percent decline in the share price of Grameenphone.  

Lafarge Holcim Bangladesh Ltd led the turnover table with a turnover value of Tk40.4 crore, closing the day at Tk48 per share. The stock was followed by Grameenphone, with a turnover value of Tk16.4 crore, closing at Tk266.4 per share.

The Coppertech Industries Ltd was the top gainer advancing 10 percent, closing at Tk24.3 per share, while SEML FBLSL Growth Fund was the day's worst loser after shedding 6.4 percent and closing at Tk8.8 per share, according to the DSE website.

Gainers outnumbered losers as out of the 355 issues traded, 181 advanced, 107 declined and 67 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.