Stocks close higher after 3 bearish sessions

Dhaka stocks opened and closed higher on Wednesday as sell-offs for three consecutive days brought many trendy stocks down and bargain hunters came up to grab the opportunity to bag some oversold stocks.

DSEX, the broad-based index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), closed 0.13% higher at 6,204.

On Tuesday, the index dropped below 6,200 for the first time in April. Analysts attributed this drop to investors' caution ahead of the upcoming earnings declaration. Furthermore, the market volatility has caused many to hold more cash, seeking to hedge against potential losses.

Unlike the previous three sessions, gainers outnumbered losers in the DSE as 75 scrips advanced in the morning and only 34 declined.

Meanwhile, the number of scrips stuck on the floor prices came down to 283 from 288.

"The market remained upbeat throughout the session owing to the prevailing buy-dominance from bargain hunters who perceived some selective issues to be traded at a lucrative price level," said EBL Securities in its daily market commentary.

Investors have been shifting their focus toward short-term trading, creating continuous volatility on the trading floor, according to the analysts of the brokerage firm.

On Wednesday, Tk411 crore trading turnover was registered in the DSE, 7.1% down from that in the previous session.

On the sectoral front, IT, food, and life insurance contributed the maximum 17.2%, 15.4% and 10.9% of the DSE turnover respectively.

Most of the sectors displayed positive returns, out of which IT, travel and jute exhibited the highest returns of 2.2%, 1.6% and 1.3% respectively. Only life insurance (-0.5%) exerted slight correction.