Stocks snap three-day losing streak as GP rebounds

Stocks rebounded on Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak, as some investors showed their buying appetite for major sector shares.

Market analysts said bargain hunters took position on stocks which suffered losses due to recent price correction, taking the market to the green territory.

Grameenphone, which shed more than 4.0 per cent in the past two trading days, rebounded on Wednesday, closing 1.0 per cent higher at Tk 392.90 each.

The non-bank financial institutions and banking sector also bounced back, gaining 1.21 per cent and 0.25 per cent respectively.

On the other hand, Meghna Pet Industries, Savar Refractories, Meghna Condensed Milk and Imam Button became the biggest losers a day after the DSE board decided to delist them from main trading board and send them to the over the counter market (OTC) as they did not pay any dividend in the last five or more years.

The prime bourse also found that there was no hope that the companies could improve their business and provide dividends in the near future.

However, the decision will be executed after approval of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, said a DSE director.

Share price of Meghna Pet fell 9.94 per cent to Tk 15.40, Savar Refractories 9.93 per cent to Tk 125.10, Meghna Condensed Milk 9.92 per cent to Tk 24.50 and Imam Button 9.89 per cent to Tk 24.60 each.

However, the market started on a positive note and the upward trend sustained till end of the session amid modest volatility.

At the end of the session, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,748, advancing 16.36 points or 0.28 per cent over the previous day.

The two other indices also edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 3.52 points to finish at 2,003 and the DSES (Shariah) index rose 1.74 points to settle at 1,311.

Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 7.12 billion, which was 21 per cent lower than the previous day's turnover of Tk 9.01 billion.

According to International Leasing Securities, continued price correction tempted the bargain hunters to take position at the lucrative price level on different stocks, particularly telecom, financial institutions, general insurance, bank and engineering sectors.

The non-bank financial institutions posted the highest gain of 1.21 per cent, followed by telecommunication with 1.0 per cent, engineering 0.35 per cent and banking 0.25 per cent.

On the other hand, power, food and pharmaceuticals sector lost 0.10 per cent, 0.40 per cent and 0.18 per cent respectively.

A total number of 168,024 trades were executed in the day's trading session with trading volume of 174.71 million shares and mutual fund units.

The market-cap of the DSE increased to Tk 4,159 billion, up from Tk 4,149 billion in the previous day.

The gainers took a marginal lead over the losers, as out of 347 issues traded, 169 closed higher, 136 ended lower and 42 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

Fortune Shoes topped the turnover chart for the second straight day with 10.03 million shares worth Tk 385 million changing hands, followed by Monno Ceramic, United Power, Paramount Textile and Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company.

The port city bourse-Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) -- also returned to the green with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - gaining 44 points to settle at 17,598 while the Selective Categories Index - CSCX -advancing 26 points to finish at 10,646.

Here too, the gainers beat the losers as 128 issues closed higher, 98 lower and 32 remained unchanged.

The port city bourse traded 8.77 million shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 272 million in turnover.

[email protected]