DSE turnover hits five-month high

Dhaka stocks remained up on Thursday, the last trading session of the week, with the turnover of Dhaka Stock Exchange hitting five months high due to investors’ optimism about the market prospect.
Turnover at the bourse increased to Tk 538.52 crore on Thursday which was the highest after the turnover of Tk 576.32 crore on November 19 last year.
The key index of the bourse, DSEX, was up by 0.29 per cent, or 12.84 points, to close at 4,373.33 points on the day.
Market operators said that the investors, who were on the sideline, became active on the trading floor in last couple of trading sessions helping the market to keep afloat despite some profit taking sales pressure by the second half of the session.
DSEX increased to 4,410 points at 11:30am after starting with 4,360 points on the day, but closed the session at 4,373.33 points.
City Corporation election-centric activities of the political parties helped in reducing the prolonged political unrest and subsequently attracted investors to the trading floor, they said.
Due to the fall in share prices for last couple of months, investors opted to purchase shares considering them lucrative, operators said.
DS30, the blue-chip index of DSE, however, inched down by 0.14 per cent, or 2.35 points, to finish at 1,668.34 points on Thursday.
The Shariah index of the bourse, DSES, stood at 1,060.88 points, shedding 0.42 per cent or 4.50 points.
‘Sideliners seemed to be returning to the market, registering Tk 5.4 bn turnover today, which is continuously improving for last 3 sessions,’ IDLC said in its daily market commentary.
‘The additional fund flow caused upbeat prices for many scrips,’ it said.
‘However, sellers still remained strong restraining the market to enter into a positive correction mode,’ said IDLC.
‘Today, their dominance sustained, assisting DSEX to close 13 points higher from yesterday’s close, despite the fact that buyers pulled the market up by almost 50 points, early in the session,’ it said.
Of the 310 shares and mutual funds traded on the day, 142 advanced, 136 declined and 32 remained unchanged.
United Power Generation and Distribution Company gained the most for another trading session as its shares worth Tk 52.65 crore changed hands on the day.
Shasha Denims, MJL Bangladesh, Western Marine Shipyard, ACI Limited, IFAD Autos, Khulna Power Company, Saif Powertec, BEXIMCO and Summit Alliance Port were among other turnover leaders.
Zahintex Industries gained the most on the day as its share prices rose by 9.84 per cent, while Jamuna Bank was the worst loser of the day, shedding 18.11 per cent.