Dhaka stocks extend gains for second day

Infographic: TBS

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) experienced a second consecutive day of upward momentum today.

Market insiders say investors are adopting a cautious approach amid ongoing political and economic uncertainties and focusing on selective stock purchases, particularly undervalued shares with strong growth potential. Someone redirected their investment into blue-chip stocks to survive funds, they say. 

Over two consecutive sessions, the benchmark index, DSEX, increased by 25 points.

The index rose by 8 points to close at 5,199 today. The DSE shariah index inched up by 2 points to 1,164 and the blue-chip DS30 index increased by 4 points to 1,995.

Turnover on the DSE increased by 22%, reaching Tk413 crore from Tk338 crore compared to the previous session.

Among the 397 stocks traded, 182 gained, 138 declined and 77 remained unchanged.

Market insiders note that for the last two months, the DSEX has been fluctuating around 5,100 to 5,200 points. Institutional investors remain inactive, with retail investors following suit amid current challenges, they say. 

Key barriers to market growth include high deposit rates, liquidity crunch, low institutional and foreign participation, and economic challenges worsened by political instability, all overshadowing recovery efforts, say the market insiders.

The indices opened the trading session yesterday with a positive trend which continued till the session ended.

S Alam Cold Rolled Steels placed in the top gainers' list followed by Prime Islami Life Insurance, Trust Islami Life Insurance, Sikder Insurance Company, Vanguard AML Rupali Bank Balanced Fund and Tosrifa Industries Limited.

Summit Power placed first on the list of top loser companies, followed by Safko Spinnings Mills, Premier Leasing & Finance, Hamid Fabrics, National Bank, and National Tea Company Ltd.

In its daily market commentary, EBL Securities noted that the benchmark index of the capital bourse managed to settle in the positive zone today as buyers extended their interest in certain scrips by capitalising on the recent corrections.

The market opened on a positive note, pulling the benchmark index to an intraday high of 5,217 points as buyers continued to take positions. 

However, selling pressure later eroded the initial optimism, dragging down the benchmark index to an intraday low of 5,195 points. Finally, buyers returned to rescue the market and the benchmark index extended its gaining streak for two consecutive sessions, according to the commentary.

In the yesterday's trading session, the food sector had the highest turnover at 16.4%, followed by the pharma at 14.5% and the textile at 11.2%. 

Sector-wise performance was mixed, with life insurance (4.7%), paper (2.4%), and tannery (2.2%) showing the highest gains. On the other hand, the fuel and power (0.8%), telecommunication (0.7%) and the travel 0.5% saw the most declines.

Meanwhile, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also had a positive session yesterday. The CSCX index rose by 22.1 points, while the All Share Price Index (CASPI) increased by 35.1 points. 

Among the 205 stocks traded, 102 gained, 68 declined, and 35 remained unchanged.

The DSMEX — SME was lower by 8 points to 989 on Tuesday and turnover stood at Tk3.23 crore.