Stocks opened higher on Thursday as bargain hunters showed their buying appetite riding on the regulatory move and expected corporate declaration by some listed companies.
The market opened on a positive note this morning as DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), rose 31.78 points or 0.58 per cent to stand at 5,493 points within the first 30 minutes of trading.
Market operators said extending the time-frame of margin loan interest cap for another six months coupled with some positive macro-economic indicators despite Covid-19 pandemic attracted the investors.
Sale pressure eased as stockbrokers and merchant banks get another six months to adjust their margin loan rates to 12 per cent, said a top broker.
Meanwhile, two other DSE indices saw a positive trend till then with the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, gained 12.84 points to reach 2,125 and the Shariah Index (DSES) rose 6.78 points to stand at 1,255 points.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 3.20 billion within the first 30 minutes of trading when the report was filed at 10:30 am.
Of the issues traded till then, 184 advanced, 76 declined, and 57 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor till then.
Beximco - the flagship company of Beximco Group- was the most traded stock till then with shares worth Tk 448 million changing hands, followed by National Feed Mills, BATBC, KPCL and LafargeHolcim.
The port city bourse – the Chittagong Stock Exchange – (CSE) also rose at opening with CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI)-gaining 58 points to stand at 15,848, also at 10:30 am.
Of the issues traded till then 61 advanced, 33 declined, and 21 remained unchanged with Tk 89 million in turnover.