Stocks extend gaining trend for five days
Today's session at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) started on a positive note as investors poured their funds into selective stocks that had been dragged down to attractive levels by the previous downturn
Dhaka stocks continued their upward trajectory yesterday, marking the fifth consecutive day of gains. This positive streak is buoyed by investors' buying appetite for large stocks.
Today's session at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) started on a positive note as investors poured their funds into selective stocks that had been dragged down to attractive levels by the previous downturn.
However, after the first half-hour, the market became jittery following selling pressure from quick gain seekers. Despite this, at the end of the session, the market remained positive, even though the majority of scrips witnessed a downfall.
The benchmark index DSEX of the DSE rose 3 points to reach 5,247, while the blue-chip index DS30 advanced 2 points to close at 1,877.
Meanwhile, investor participation increased as the market turnover rose by 8% to reach Tk486 crore, compared to the previous session.
During the session, 111 scrips advanced, while 232 declined and 55 remained unchanged.
EBL Securities said in its daily market commentary that the premier bourse of the country witnessed a mere flat session as the market pulse shifted to selling mode since investors remained clung to an uncertain market outlook, although investors' buying interest in particular large-cap scrips helped the benchmark index to remain afloat in green territory.
On the sectoral front, pharma contributed the highest at 21.5% of the DSE's total turnover, followed by food and textile.
Sea Pearl Beach Resort led the turnover chart, contributing Tk20.82 crore to the total value, followed by Linde Bangladesh and Orion Pharma.
Most of the sectors displayed positive returns, with jute, paper, and engineering exhibiting the most positive returns on the bourse, while mutual funds and IT performed the worst today.
Salvo Chemical topped the gainers' table as its share price surged by 10% to close at Tk46.20, while Northern Jute was the top loser.
Meanwhile, the port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange's (CSE) major index CSCX and CASPI surged by 22 points and 34 points, respectively.
Market insiders said the five-day-long gaining streak could be a sign of turning around from the previous massive losing trend. In the last five days, the DSEX recovered only 177 points, while it lost over 1,000 points from January to 11 June.
Abu Ahmed, former professor of economics at the University of Dhaka, told The Business Standard that the market has fallen to the bottom. Now it seems to be turning around.
But the market should be allowed to run freely. It is not right to impose anything artificial like floor price or reducing the limit of circuit breakers. And this kind of intervention disturbs the balance of the market which destroys the confidence of the investors, he said.
The capital market has struggled with economic uncertainty worsened by the Russia-Ukraine war since its onset. To protect general investors from capital erosion, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) imposed a floor price in 2022 to prevent share freefalls.
After more than two years, the BSEC lifted the restriction, but the bearish trend continued, causing the DSEX to plunge over 1,200 points by 11 June. As a result, market capitalisation dropped by around Tk1.50 lakh crore during this period and due to the prolonged downturn, around one lakh investors emptied their BOs.
In response, the BSEC re-implemented measures to protect investors, including reducing the circuit breaker limit from 10% to 3%.