Stocks rebounded strongly on Thursday with the key index of the country’s premier bourse crossing the 6,100-mark, as investors bided their time on large-cap stocks.
Brokers said the market was back on the track of upward swing as investors showed buying appetite for large-cap sectors like bank, telecommunication and pharmaceuticals, taking the key index to its record high.
After witnessing mild correction the previous day, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) opened higher.
The positive trend sustained until the end of the session amid modest volatility midway, but late heavy buying left the prime index of the DSE nearly 46 points higher.
The DSEX, the core index of the DSE, which replaced the DGEN in four and a half years back, settled at nearly 6,115 points, after gaining 45.81 points or 0.75 per cent over the previous session.
It was the highest level of DSEX since its inception on January 27, 2013.
The two other indices also saw sharp gain. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips advanced 18 points or 0.83 per cent to finish at 2,178. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) rose 12 points or 0.92 per cent to close at 1,348.
The market activities, however, fell marginally with the total turnover on the DSE sliding to Tk 11.44 billion, which was 16 per cent lower than the previous day’s Tk 13.70 billion.
The gainers took a marginal lead over the losers as out of 329 issues traded, 146 closed higher, 133 lower and 50 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Square Pharmaceuticals topped the day’s turnover chart with 1.22 million shares worth Tk 353 million changing hands, followed by Premier Bank, City Bank, National Bank and LankaBangla Finance.
Mithun Knitting was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 9.91 per cent while ICB 2nd NRB Mutual Fund was the day’s worst loser, plunging 10 per cent.
The port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed higher with its Selective Categories Index - CSCX - gaining 92 points to close at 11,468.
Gainers beat losers as 120 issues closed higher, 107 lower and 35 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse saw trading in 19.17 million shares and mutual fund units worth more than Tk 527 million.
