Stocks rebound after 5-day slump

The country’s capital market today returned to positive territory after five consecutive losing sessions, driven by bargain hunting in major stocks amid cautious investor sentiment over policy developments and global geopolitical conditions. The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), DSEX, advanced 24.7 points to close at 5,230 points, recovering from the previous session’s 5,205 points.

Market analysts said investors showed renewed buying interest in fundamentally strong stocks at attractive price levels, helping restore some momentum to the market. The market opened on a strong note and maintained steady upward momentum throughout the trading session, with most traded issues posting gains and pushing the indices into positive territory by the close. Turnover on the prime bourse surged significantly, crossing TK 10 billion mark. Total turnover rose by 54.1 percent to TK 11.0 billion, compared to TK 7.1 billion in the previous session, mainly supported by a block market transaction of TK 3.4 billion in shares of BRAC Bank PLC.

Sector-wise, the banking sector dominated turnover, accounting for 36.0 percent of the total market turnover, followed by engineering at 11.0 percent and pharmaceuticals at 9.7 percent. Most sectors showed mixed performance during the session. The jute sector posted the highest gain with a 2.5 percent rise, followed by services with 1.6 percent and information technology with 1.2 percent gains. On the other hand, mutual funds suffered the highest correction, declining by 2.2 percent, while paper and printing lost 1.0 percent and tannery shares shed 0.9 percent.

Out of the 396 issues traded on the DSE, 185 advanced, 135 declined and 76 remained unchanged. Meanwhile, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher. The Selective Categories’ Index (CSCX) gained 25.3 points, while the All Share Price Index (CASPI) rose by 41.1 points at the close of trading.