Stocks end in the green as Z-category shares lead weekly gainers
Despite the DSEX closing higher, market participation has yet to recover, as most investors remain cautious and await clearer signals on the market's direction
Stocks ended the week in the green, buoyed by optimism over improved political clarity, as investors selectively turned to undervalued blue-chip scrips ahead of the national elections.
Z-category stocks — non-compliant and non-dividend-paying companies — dominated the weekly gainer chart, recording gains ranging from 10% to as high as 28%, according to data from the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
Meanwhile, several A-category stocks that paid dividends of over 10% came under selling pressure, pushing their prices lower.
Despite the DSEX closing higher, market participation has yet to recover, as most investors remain cautious and await clearer signals on the market's direction. This was reflected in average daily turnover, which declined a further 1.2% to Tk354.3 crore.
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Market capitalisation, the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares, slightly increased by 0.58% to Tk6.80 lakh crore.
Of the traded stocks, the majority or 231 stock prices increased, 113 stock prices declined, and 45 stock prices remained unchanged, the DSE data showed.
EBL Securities, in its weekly commentary, said the benchmark index of the capital bourse managed to maintain its upward trajectory, buoyed by an optimistic start to the first session of the new year that overshadowed the early week's subdued momentum, since investors anticipated improved clarity on the political front, which prompted accumulation of undervalued scrips ahead of the national elections."
"Despite a cautious start as sentiment remained subdued amid lingering electoral developments, the momentum upturned in the final sessions of the week, riding on new year optimism and portfolio rebalancing activities, coupled with the investors' perception of a stable political environment, which pushed the market indices into positive territory by the week's close, it reads.
Z-stocks dominate the top gainers' list
DSE's weekly report showed that of the top ten gainers in terms of closing prices over the previous week, eight were from the Z-category, one A-category and one B-category stock.
The highest gains were for BD Welding, a non-performing stock, with the gains of 28.38% to TK19 each. A week ago, its share price was Tk14.80 each, data shows.
Tallu Spinning Mills, another non-performing textile firm, shares surged 25.45% to Tk6.9 each, followed by Islamic Finance by 17.86% to Tk9.90 each, Apex Spinning Mills, A-category stocks, surged 16.32% to Tk193.20 each, and Regent Textile by 14.29% to Tk4 each.
However, on the loser side, of the top ten losers, six A-category stocks saw price decline, while four were from the Z-category stocks.
The highest price erosion was for International Leasing by 8.96% to Tk0.61 each, followed by Jamuna Oil Company by 8.93% to Tk168.20 each, Zeal Bangla Sugar Mills by 7.90% to Tk137.60 each, IFIC First Mutual Fund by 7.69% to Tk2.40%, and Popilar First Mutual Fund by 7.69% to Tk2.40 each.
In the last week, investors were mostly active in the Textile sector, followed by the Bank and Pharma sectors. Most of the sectors exhibited positive returns, with the Paper sector by 5.4% being the highest gainer, while the mutual fund was the biggest loser by -1.6%.
