The Square Pharmaceuticals dominated the premier bourse's transaction chart for the second consecutive session on Thursday as the top 10 traded companies accounted for 34 per cent of the turnover.
Dealers said investors remained active buying the Square Pharma's shares as the company recently approved Tk 2.02 billion for BMRE (balancing, modernisation, rehabilitation and expansion) and spending on capital machinery and land for future expansion fuelling optimism of investors.
"Some optimistic investors took position on fundamentally sound issues like Square Pharma, taking the company to the top of the turnover list," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
Apart from Square Pharma, the most other active shares in terms of value included Dragon Sweater, IFAD Autos, Grameenphone, BD Thai Aluminium, City Bank, Golden Harvest Agro Industries, IPDC, Olympic Industries and Shahjalal Islami Bank.
According to statistics available with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), about 1.40 million shares of Square Pharma were traded, generating a turnover of Tk 450 million, which was 12.54 per cent of the premier bourse's total transactions.
The total turnover stood at Tk 3.58 billion. It was 8.44 per cent lower than the previous day's Tk 3.91 billion.
The second largest market-cap company's share price hovered between Tk 315 and Tk 324 before closing at Tk 323.30, advancing 2.31 per cent over the previous session.
The pharma sector company also posted 24.36 per cent growth in consolidated earnings per share (EPS) in the third quarter (Q3) of July-September, 2017 period. The EPS was Tk 4.39 for the period against Tk 3.53 for July-September, 2016.
The pharma company disbursed 35 per cent cash and 7.50 per cent stock dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2017. In 2016, the company paid 40 per cent cash and 10 per cent stock dividend.
The company's paid-up capital is Tk 7.37 billion and authorised capital is Tk 10 billion while total number of securities is 737.39 million.
The sponsor-directors own 34.43 per cent stake in the company, institutional investors own 10.35 per cent, foreign stakeholders 19.46 per cent and the general public 35.76 per cent as of December 28, 2017, the DSE data shows.
The Dragon Sweater came next, with shares worth Tk 129 million changing hands. The textile company's share price closed at Tk 22.40, advancing 0.45 per cent over the previous day.
IFAD Autos clinched the third spot, with shares worth Tk 117 million changing hands. The engineering sector company's share price shed 0.07 per cent to close at Tk 129.80.
Grameenphone emerged fourth with shares worth Tk 107 million changing hands. The largest market cap listed company's share price closed at Tk 483.30, advancing 0.43 per cent over the previous day.
BD Thai Aluminium saw its shares worth Tk 99 million change hands. The company's share price fell 2.25 per cent to close at Tk 30.40.
The turnover of City Bank was Tk 80 million. The bank's share price closed at Tk 45.50, losing 0.44 per cent over the day before.
Golden Harvest Agro Industries featured a turnover of Tk 79 million. The company's share price advanced 1.17 per cent to close at Tk 43.20.
The turnover of IPDC was Tk 76 million. The non-bank financial institution's share price gained 0.80 per cent to close at Tk 50.20.
Olympic Industries featured a turnover of Tk 67 million. The company's share closed at Tk 275, losing 0.22 per cent over the previous session.
Shahjalal Bank also found its way to the top ten turnover chart, with shares worth Tk 60 million changing hands. The bank's share price rose 3.70 per cent to close at Tk 30.80.
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