Stocks ended slightly higher on Thursday with turnover remaining below Tk 1.0 billion-mark for the 13th straight session as investors mostly followed cautious stance amid worsening pandemic situation.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, went up by 4.45 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 3,969 during the three-hour trading session.
The DSE core index is hovering between 3,950 and 3,970 points for more than two weeks now as the floor price limitation and disappointment over the proposed budget kept the investors at bay.
Two other indices also edged up. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 2.98 points to finish at 1,330 and the DSE Shariah Index rose 0.93 point to close at 919.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, remained below Tk 1.0 billion-mark for the 13-trading sessions to Tk 683 million, which was 26 per cent higher than previous day’s turnover of Tk 541 million.
Market operators said the investors remained cautious – owing to uncertainty looming over the economy due to the pandemic and no positive signal for the capital market development in the proposed budget.
Most of the shares remained stuck at the trading floor amid floor price limitation. On the DSE, of the issues traded, 220 remained unchanged while only 29 issues advanced and 16 declined.
A total of 14,686 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with a trading volume of 31.06 million shares and mutual fund units.
Beximco Pharma topped the turnover chart with shares worth Tk 82 million changing hands, followed by Reckitt Benckiser, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Summit Power and Indo-Bangla Pharma.
Indo-Bangla Pharma was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 2.05 per cent while Aramit Cement was the worst loser, losing 6.40 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended slightly higher with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI) advancing 5.94 points to close at 11,262 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) gaining 0.63 point to finish at 6,818.
Of the issues traded, 20 gained, 12 declined and 79 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 3.75 million shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 936 million in turnovers.