Stocks closed marginally higher Wednesday, after a three-day losing streak, as bargain hunters showed their buying interest on selective issues.
The market opened on a positive trend and the key index of the premier bourse rose 30 points in the first half of the trading session. But, selling pressures at the last moment wiped out most of the early gains.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), finally went up by 7.34 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 6,496, after losing almost 75 points in the past three days.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, dropped to Tk 14.84 billion on the premier bourse, which was 0.67 per cent lower than the previous day’s tally of Tk 14.94 billion.
Two most-traded firms --- Beximco and Orion Pharma --jointly captured almost 21 per cent of the day’s total turnover.
Market operators said the market witnessed high volatility as investors were active on both sides of the trading fence.
The bargain hunters showed their buying interest on selective issues after the three days' fall, said the stockbroker.
Despite the bullish trend in the morning session, the stocks went down after the mid-session due to the sale pressures of cautious investors, he said.
Most of the traded issues, however, remained unchanged due to the ‘floor price’ restriction and over 150 companies did not find buyers.
Of the 371 issues traded, 114 declined, 71 advanced and 186 others remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Two other indices edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, gained 6.72 points to 2,323 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) rose 2.16 points to 1,415.
Beximco became the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 1.57 billion changing hands, closely followed by Orion Pharma (Tk 1.49 billion).
Eastern Cables was the day’s top gainer, soaring 9.95 per cent while Desh General Insurance Company was the worst loser, losing 5.34 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also edged higher with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) rising 16 points to settle at 19,180 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) gaining 10 points to close at 11,496.
Of the issues traded, 80 declined, 55 advanced and 111 issues remained unchanged.
The port-city bourse traded 36.32 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 1.01 billion.