DSEX breaks 4-week losing streak

Stocks bounced back in the outgoing week, snapping a four-week losing streak, as buoyant investors put fresh bets on lucrative shares amid positive expectations.

Of the five trading days during the week, the first two sessions ended lower but the next three sessions closed sharply higher.

Week on week, the benchmark DSEX index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), jumped 89.21 points or 1.29 per cent to settle the week at 6,996, after erasing 384 points in the past four consecutive weeks.

Market analysts said stocks rebounded as bargain hunters renewed their buying appetite for major sector stocks that saw significant corrections in the recent market fall.

"As the index lost over 500 points in the last one month, investors opted to take new positions in the stocks in the last three days of the week at what they deemed to be lucrative price levels," said a merchant banker.

He noted that investors are quite optimistic about the market, so they are showing their buying interest in lucrative stocks.

Thos week Sonali Bank has provided Tk 5.0 billion loans to the state-run Investment Corporation of Bangladesh to invest in the stock market, which is a positive signal for the investors, he said.

"With institutional investors pouring money into stocks, investors hope that the market would rise further," he said, adding that investors should not be panicked.

The institutional investors, including state-run ICB, supported the market from the front, which boosted the confidence of general investors, according to a leading broker.

The opportunist investors' buoyancy in the major sector stocks helped the benchmark index to close near 7,000 points, he said.

He noted that as prices of most stocks fell by 5.0 per cent to 12 per cent in the recent price corrections, optimistic investors went on a buying spree for lucrative stocks.

"Price spiral in some specific large-cap stocks added a boost to overall market movement during the week," he added.

In line with the surge in the benchmark index, two other indices also ended higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, jumped 79.68 points to finish at 2,680 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) rose 15.39 points to close at 1,477.

Market capitalisation of the DSE also rose by 0.89 per cent from the week before to Tk 5,564 billion on Thursday.

The week's total turnover clocked in at Tk 58.98 billion on the prime bourse as against Tk 64.30 billion in the previous week.

The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 11.79 billion on the country's premier bourse, 8.27 per cent down from the previous week's average of Tk 12.86 billion.

Investors were mostly active in the miscellaneous sector that captured 17.8 per cent of the week's total turnover, followed by pharma sector (14.6 per cent) and textile (14.50 per cent).

Losers, however, took a modest lead over the gainers, as out of 379 issues traded, 208 closed lower, 141 higher and 30 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

Major sectors witnessed gains, with miscellaneous sector posting the highest return of 7.0 per cent riding on Beximco which gained 8.44 per cent alone, followed by IT (6.50 per cent) backed by Genex Infosys which soared 15.72 per cent alone.

Pharma, banking, cement, telecom, financial institutions, engineering and power sectors also gained 2.10 per cent, 1.40 per cent, 1.30 per cent, 1.20 per cent, 0.80 per cent, 0.70 per cent, and 0.50 per cent respectively.

Beximco -- the flagship company of Beximco Group -- topped the turnover chart with shares worth Tk 9.0 billion changing hands, followed by Orion Pharma (Tk 2.71 billion), NRB Commercial Bank (Tk 2.48 billion), Genex Infosys (Tk 2.14 billion) and IFIC Bank (Tk 1.98 billion).

Genex Infosys was the top gainer, posting a 15.72 per cent gain while Pharma Aids was the worst loser, shedding 17.01 per cent.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also bounced back, with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI), rising 300 points to settle at 20,497 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX), soaring 185 points to close at 12,317.

Of the issues traded, 174 declined, 129 advanced and 28 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.

The port city's bourse traded 51.45 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 1.65 billion.