Stocks up for third straight session amid low participation
In the previous session, the key index DSEX of the DSE also gained 35 points
Dhaka stocks closed higher on Wednesday (19 June) for the third straight session amid some optimism on the macroeconomic and policy front after a sharp decline over the previous months.
DSEX, the broad-based index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), closed 0.85% higher at 5,161 as 232 scrips advanced and 96 declined, while the price of 64 scrips remained unchanged.
An expectation for a rationalised proposal for capital gain tax on individual stock investors ultimately, a concessional large salvage fund for the state-owned Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), which helped bargain hunters make some new bets, said stockbrokers.
Also, the recent developments between the Bangladesh Bank and the state-owned ICB that raised hopes for a market support fund played a role in creating cautious optimism in the secondary market, they added.
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The central bank already asked ICB to secure the planned guarantee by the finance ministry to avail a large fund from the Bangladesh Bank, solve its liquidity problems, and invest a part of the planned fund into undervalued shares, according to ICB sources.
ICB, the largest de facto market maker in Bangladesh, earlier in May wrote to the central bank for Tk5,000 crore as a soft loan as advised by the finance ministry.
However, the first session post Eid-Ul-Adha holidays saw a sharp decline in turnover, from Tk423 crore to Tk246 crore, which was the lowest since 26 February of 2023.
Market people said all the investors were yet to back to market activities after the weeklong holidays.
Analysts said a moderately positive direction being observed in remittances and exports helped investors looking for some opportunity in the sharply falling stock market.
According to Shanta Securities Research, DSEX fell by 17.4% to date this year.
The fall accelerated with the floor price withdrawal after one and a half years, which let most of the scrips fall free.
"The capital bourse of the country observed lacklustre trading in the first session after the Eid holiday as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines, although the market observed a slight recovery, aided by price appreciation in the majority of stocks," said EBL Securities.
"The indices stayed upbeat throughout the session, with opportunistic investors taking positions on sector-specific issues, driven by positive expectations," it said, adding that cautious investors remained observant in the absence of any major catalysts to counter the prevailing pessimism pervading the trading floor.
On the sectoral front, pharmaceuticals, general insurance, and textiles contributed the highest 18.1%, 11.5%, and 10.2% of the day's total turnover in the DSE, respectively.
Most of the sectors displayed positive returns, out of which engineering, general insurance, and jute came up at the top of the sectoral gainers' table.
The engineering sector saw a 4.4% rise in its total market capitalization on Wednesday as Walton Hi-Tech shares turned around and hit the top circuit after a sponsor-director announced the accomplishment of his offloading as per regulatory instruction to ensure sufficient free-float shares.
The general insurance sector's market capitalization surged by 3.1% following a sharp decline for weeks. The jute sector's market capitalization increased by 2.2%.
Telecommunication, on the other hand, was the lone sector to see a decline in market capitalization that reflected the total market value of all the listed companies.
