Dhaka stocks rebounded into positive territory on the back of bargain hunting by investors on Thursday, a day after the prime index hit a four-month low.
Market analysts said some investors showed their appetite for sector-specific stocks, now at a lucrative price level.
They, however, are still sceptical about whether this positive trend would sustain, as the institutional investors mostly adopted a cautious stance and the small ones are suffering from a lack of confidence.
A group of aggrieved investors also took to the streets on Thursday in protest against inaction of the authorities concerned on market slump.
The aggrieved investors, under the banner of 'Bangladesh Pujibazar Biniogkari Oikya Parishad', demonstrated in front of the DSE building.
They announced that they would stage a token hunger strike for five hours at the same place on Monday next.
On Thursday, the market opened on a positive note and the upward trend sustained until the end of the session amid volatile trading.
At the end of the session, DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, settled 25.84 points or 0.49 per cent higher at 5,266, after losing about 84 points in the past two sessions.
The Sheltech Brokerage said the market bounced back riding on banking and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) stocks.
The non-bank financial institutions posted the highest gain of 1.03 per cent, followed by banking sector (0.95 per cent).
The DSE Shariah Index also gained 3.72 points to close at 1,214. However, the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 4.19 points to finish at 1,864.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, however, rose to Tk 3.83 billion, more than 15 per cent up from the previous day's turnover of Tk 3.32 billion.
A total number of 103,045 trades were executed in the day's trading session, with trading volume standing at 110.20 million securities.
The market capitalisation of the DSE also stood at Tk 3,894 billion on Thursday, up from Tk 3,892 billion in the previous day.
According to the International Leasing Securities, the active presence of the bargain hunters on bank, textile, financial institutions, engineering and pharmaceuticals stocks helped the index go back to green territory.
Apart from banking and non-banking financial institutions, engineering and pharmaceuticals sectors also gained 0.55 per cent and 0.39 per cent respectively.
The power sector witnessed the highest loss of 1.37 per cent, followed by telecommunication (0.89 per cent) and food (0.10 per cent).
The gainers took a strong lead over the losers, as out of 344 issues traded, 202 advanced, 102 declined and 40 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Fortune Shoes topped the DSE turnover chart, with 5.86 million shares worth Tk 228 million changing hands.
The other turnover leaders were Monno Ceramic, National Tubes, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company and Brac Bank.
Aziz Pipes was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 9.97 per cent while Agrani Insurance was the worst loser, shedding 9.09 per cent.
The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange, also ended higher with its CSE All Share Price Index -- CASPI -- advancing 102 points to settle at 16,146 and the Selective Categories Index -- CSCX -- gaining 61 points to finish at 9,769.
The gainers beat losers, as 145 issues closed higher, 73 ended lower and 20 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 5.0 million shares and mutual fund units worth more than Tk 180 million in turnover.
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