Stocks posted marginal gain on Thursday, snapping a three-day fall, as some investors went on late hours buying spree.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 8.58 points or 0.15 per cent to finish at 5,380, after losing 58 points in the past three sessions.
Market analysts said most of the investors remained followed cautious stance after approved budget while the latest gas price hike made them more cautious.
The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, also advanced 0.40 point to finish at 1,910. However, the DSE Shariah Index shed 0.58 point to close at 1,233.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 4.87 billion, which was 4.0 per cent lower than the previous day’s turnover of Tk 5.07 billion.
The gainers took a modest lead over the losers as out of 351 issues traded, 178 advanced, 131 declined and 42 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
National Life Insurance topped the turnover chart for the second straight session with 696,948 shares worth Tk 177 million changing hands.
The other turnover leaders were Runner Automobiles, Silco Pharmaceuticals, Paramount Textile and JMI Syringes.
A total number of 129,771 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with trading volume of 184.26 million securities.
The market capitalisation of the DSE also rose to Tk 3,975 billion on Thursday, from Tk 3,970 billion in the previous session.
ICB Employees Provident MF-1 was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 10 cent while Imam Button Industries was the worst loser, losing 6.36 per cent.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange, also inched up with its CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI –advancing 4.17 points to settle at 16,469 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX –gaining 1.58 points to finish at 9,984.
Here too, the gainers beat losers, as 129 issues closed higher, 95 lower and 38 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city bourse traded 13.58 million shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 432 million in turnover.
