Stocks bounced back this week, as optimistic investors went on a buying spree, snapping up financial issues.
Thursday was the last trading session of the week.
Week-on-week, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), jumped 51.55 points or 0.98 per cent to settle at 5,332.
Of the five trading sessions of the week, the first four sessions closed higher but the last one faced modest correction.
Brokers said a section of investors were active on sector-specific issues, especially banking, financial institutions and telecommunications sectors, pushing the core index above 5,300-mark.
According to LankaBangla Securities, upward shift in the index is mainly driven by significant positive changes in large-cap sectors like cement, banking, financial institutions, cement, telecommunications and engineering.
The cement sector saw the highest gain of 3.20 per cent, followed by engineering (2.40 per cent), banking (2.10 per cent), financial institutions (1.80 per cent) and telecoms (0.10 per cent).
Pharmaceuticals registered the biggest loss of 0.80 per cent.
The EBL Securities said the investors' sentiment remained positive almost throughout the week, as they started taking fresh position while some adopted 'go slow' policy ahead of the national elections.
Two other indices -- the DS30 index and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) -- also inched higher.
The DS30 index comprising blue chips closed 0.92 points higher at 1,862 and the DSE Shariah Index also gained 0.73 points to settle at 1,224.
Total turnover, however, fell to Tk 30.03 billion on the DSE from Tk 31.53 billion in the previous week.
The daily turnover in this week averaged out at Tk 6.0 billion, registering a decline of 5.0 per cent over the previous week's average of Tk 6.31 billion.
The textile sector kept its dominance on the turnover chart, grabbing 28 per cent of the week's total turnover. It was followed by the pharmaceuticals (17 per cent) and engineering (11 per cent).
The market capitalisation of the DSE advanced 0.48 per cent to Tk 3,836 billion from Tk 3,817 billion in the week before.
Two listed companies -- Eastern Cables and Sonali Aansh Industries -- declared dividends in this week .
Eastern Cables recommended 10 per cent stock dividend and Sonali Aansh 10 per cent cash dividend for the year ending on June 30, 2018.
Of the 346 issues traded, 224 closed higher, 100 declined and 22 issues remained flat on the DSE trading floor.
Saiham Cotton Mills topped the week's turnover chart, with 29.26 million shares worth Tk 791 billion changing hands.
The other turnover leaders were Dragon Sweater (Tk 726 million), Advent Pharma (Tk 694 million), Paramount Textile (Tk 656 million) and United Power (Tk 654 million).
Sonali Aansh Industries was the week's best performer, posting a gain of 48.90 per cent while ML Dyeing was the biggest loser, dipping 17.09 per cent.
The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also rebounded, with its CSE All Share Price Index -- CASPI -- advancing 144 points to settle at 16,326 and the Selective Categories Index -- CSCX -- gaining 68 points to finish at 9,878.
