Stocks witnessed a sharp rise in the first week of 2022 with soaring turnover as buoyant investors continued pouring fresh bets on major sector issues, shrugging off Omicron worries.
Week on week, DSEX, the prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), jumped 230.79 points or 3.42 per cent to settle the week at 6,987. The DSEX added 285 points in the past two consecutive weeks.
All the five trading days of the week ended higher as the investors went on a buying spree to cheer the New Year.
The week's total turnover stood at Tk 64.88 billion on the prime bourse as against Tk 41.60 billion in the previous week.
The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 12.97 billion on the country's premier bourse, climbing further by 56 per cent over the previous week's average of Tk 8.32 billion.
Last year, the core index of the DSE posted an impressive 1,354 points or 25 per cent growth.
Market analysts said stocks continued to swell in the New Year, beating worries of the rising Covid-19 cases in the country as the investors continued pouring their funds in large-cap stocks.
The investors put their fresh bets on stocks anticipating that the Omicron variant would not be as devastating as previously thought, they said.
Favourable macroeconomic data also prompted investors to put fresh bets on major sector stocks like financial institutions, banking, telecom, power and food sector stocks, pushing the index higher, according to a merchant banker.
Some institutional investors injected fresh funds on selective large-cap stocks during the week, so index and turnover rose significantly, he said.
"Relaxation of margin loan requirement, possibility of settlement of disputes between two regulatory bodies and portfolio rebalancing by investors kept the market afloat," he said.
Favourable macroeconomic updates, positive earnings and dividend expectation from the December-ending companies have put investors in a bullish mood throughout the week, commented EBL Securities.
During the week, two other DSE indices a.lso ended higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, rose 70.50 points to finish at 2,603 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) advanced 41.03 points to close at 1,472.
Market capitalisation of the DSE also jumped 2.92 per cent to Tk 5,580 billion on Thursday, up from Tk 5,421 billion in the week before.
Of the major sectors that posted gains, power saw the highest gain of 7.20 per cent, followed by life insurance (6.45 per cent), non-bank financial institutions (4.23 per cent), telecom (3.51 per cent), banking (3.02 per cent), food (2.66 per cent), engineering (1.63 per cent) and pharma (1.21 per cent).
Of the traded issues, 286 issues advanced, 86 declined, and 10 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco -- the flagship company of Beximco Group -- topped the turnover list with shares worth Tk 5.99 billion changing hands, followed by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 3.42 billion), Fortune Shoes (Tk 2.75 billion), Power Grid Company (Tk 2.07 billion) and Delta Life Insurance (Tk 1.95 billion).
Bangladesh Shipping Corporation was the top gainer for the two consecutive weeks, soaring 45.55 per cent this week and 45.48 per cent the previous week, riding on the news of its higher profits.
Sonali Paper & Board Mills was the worst loser, shedding 20.53 per cent, after witnessing an unprecedented 76 per cent price hike in the last one month.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher, with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) rising 829 points to settle at 20,495 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) gaining 497 points to close at 12,310.
Of the issues traded, 282 advanced, 62 declined and five remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city's bourse traded 60.34 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 1.76 billion.
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