The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSEX) crossed the 6500-mark for the first time on Tuesday since its inception in eight years back as investors continued their buying spree on major sector issues.
DSEX, the core index of the DSE, went up by 54.30 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 6,535, the highest since its inception more than eight years back in 2013.
The DSEX was introduced on January 27, 2013, designed by Standard and Poor’s (S&P) based on the free-float method, replacing the then key index – DGEN. However, the all-time high DGEN was 8,918 recorded on December 5, 2010, when the market saw a bull run before a crash.
The blue-chip index DS30, a group of 30 prominent companies, also jumped 22.34 points to settle at 2,366, also the highest since its inception on January 27, 2013. The DSE Shariah Index gained 12.46 points to close at 1,424.
The market capitalisation of the DSE also hit a fresh all-time high at Tk 5,414 billion on Tuesday, surpassing the previous day’s record high of Tk 5,378 billion.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, climbed to more than two months high at Tk 23.14 billion on the country’s premier bourse, in a further buck by 5.75 per cent over the previous day’s mark of Tk 21.88 billion.
Market experts said stocks continued their record-breaking rally as investors put fresh bets on large-cap stocks, anticipating positive momentum in coming days after the Bangladesh Bank unveiled another expansionary monetary policy.
As the DSEX climbed a record high almost every day, more and more investors joined the rally with an expectation of better returns from the bullish market, said a merchant banker.
He noted that the institutional investors preferred buying stocks as they hope the index will rise further as money flow in the banking sector may increase.
Gainers took a modest lead over the losers, as out of 375 issues traded, 178 advanced, 170 declined and 27 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
A total number of 346,468 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with a trading volume of 820.89 million shares and mutual fund units.
Beximco - the flagship company of Beximco Group-topped the turnover list with shares worth Tk 1.09 billion changing hands, followed by IFIC Bank (Tk 823 million), Saif Powertec (Tk 5446 million), Orion Pharma (Tk 400 million) and Genex Infosys (Tk 388 million).
CVO Petrochemicals Refinery was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 9.91 per cent while Peoples Insurance was the worst loser, losing 8.50 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended sharply higher with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—soaring 155 points to finish at 19,014 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX rising 93 points to close at 11,411.
Of the issues traded, 165 advanced, 141 declined and 20 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 36.88 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 801 million.