Stocks opened marginally higher on Tuesday as bargain hunters showed their buying interest in lucrative issues amid cautious trading.
Following the previous day’s modest fall, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 17.21 points or 0.26 per cent to 6,528, after the first two hours of trading at 11:30 am.
Two other DSE indices saw positive trends till then. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, gained 3.87 points to 2,335 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) rose 0.88 points to 1,421.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 6.88 billion at 11:30 am.
Market insiders said the market witnessed a slow trend as some investors followed a cautious step ahead of corporate declarations while others took the opportunity of buying stocks at lucrative prices.
Share prices of more than 150 companies remained stuck at their floor prices and a few companies dominated the market for the last few weeks, said a merchant banker.
Of the issues traded till then, 95 advanced, 91 declined and 165 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Orion pharma was the most traded stock till the filing of this report with shares worth Tk 749 million changing hands.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also opened marginally higher with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—rising 54 points to stand at 19,236 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX – gained 33 points to reach 11,530, also at 11:30 am.
Of the issues traded till then, 59 gained, 60 declined and 77 remained unchanged with a turnover of Tk 103 million.