DSEX hits 9.5-month high on Islami Bank-led rally

Infographic: TBS

The country's premier stock exchange extended its upward momentum for a third consecutive session yesterday, with the benchmark index climbing to a nine-and-a-half-month high, driven by strong buying in blue-chip stocks and a sharp rally in Islami Bank.

Despite late-session profit-taking pressure that saw more than half of traded issues decline, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) managed to stay resilient above the 5,600-point mark, supported by selective accumulation in large-cap shares.

The DSEX rose 15 points, or 0.27%, to settle at 5,640, its highest level since late last year. The DS30 index also edged up by 8 points to close at 2,128, reflecting broadly positive sentiment among blue-chip counters.

However, market breadth remained negative, underscoring cautious trading activity, as 184 issues declined against 145 advances, while 66 remained unchanged.

Total turnover increased by 7% to Tk1,456 crore, indicating improved liquidity flow and sustained investor participation.

According to EBL Securities, the market showed notable resilience as investors continued accumulating attractively valued blue-chip stocks. A key driver of the session was sustained buying pressure in Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, which surged 10% to hit the upper circuit breaker.

Market insiders attributed the rally to expectations of government-backed regulatory support aimed at easing the bank's liquidity stress, which helped restore investor confidence in the stock.

Despite strong momentum during mid-session trading, many investors opted to book profits after the index reached a multi-month peak, leading to mixed sentiment toward the close.

Sheltech Brokerage Limited noted that the day's movement was shaped by a combination of selective accumulation and profit-taking pressure. Although the session opened with broad-based buying interest, selling pressure intensified from mid-session onward. However, support from the banking and large-cap pharmaceutical sectors helped absorb losses and ensured a positive finish for the key indices.

On the sectoral front, general insurance dominated turnover, accounting for 15.9% of total trade, followed by the banking sector with 13.3% and textiles with 10.1%.

In terms of performance, the ceramic sector led the gainers with a 1.9% rise, followed by banking at 1.2% and cement at 0.9%.

On the losing side, the miscellaneous sector declined 3.9%, while life insurance and general insurance dropped 3.1% and 1.1%, respectively.

Islami Bank topped the gainers' list, followed by Sonargaon Textile, Emerald Oil, and Meghna Condensed Milk.

On turnover, IPDC Finance was the most traded stock with Tk81 crore, followed by NCC Bank and Beximco Pharmaceuticals.

Beximco Limited emerged as the top loser, falling 9.95%, followed by ICB Employees Provident Mutual Fund and Shyampur Sugar.

The positive momentum was also reflected on the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), where the CSCX index rose 12 points to 9,423, while the CASPI gained 52 points to reach 15,395. Turnover at the port city bourse surged 75% to Tk42.46 crore.