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Capital market rebounds on optimism on IT, pharma stocks

FE REPORT | Wednesday, 23 November 2022



The stock market rebounded on Tuesday, snapping a two-day slump, as bargain hunters put fresh bets on Information Technology (IT) and pharma stocks anticipating positive returns in the days to come.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), soared 39.52 points or 0.64 per cent to settle at 6,230, after hitting three-month low the day before.
The recent market corrections created investment opportunities for bargain hunters as they perceived many stocks being traded at a lucrative price level, particularly IT and pharmaceutical companies, market insiders said.
Share prices of nine out of 11 listed IT firms saw their price surge while BDCOM Online posted a 9.88 per cent gain, becoming the day's second top gainer.
Genex Infosys also jumped 5.80 per cent to close at Tk 102.10, after losing 11.71 per cent the day before. The sector leader's stock, however, jumped 75 per cent in a month following the news of its deal signing with the National Board of Revenue.
Genex Infosys also kept its dominance in the turnover chart with shares worth Tk 381 million changing hands.
Aamra Network, Aamra Technologies, ADN Telecom and eGeneration also saw their prices surge by 5.51 per cent to 6.87 per cent.
While most of the listed firms had their profits drop in the recent quarters, the IT companies reported impressive growths in the fiscal 2021-22, against the backdrop of the post-pandemic rising demand for IT related services at home and abroad.
Investors focused on IT stocks as 80 per cent IT firms achieved remarkable profit growth year-on-year in the FY22, said a leading broker.
The IT sector also booked the highest gain of 5.0 per cent, followed by pharmaceuticals 0.94 per cent.
Among the pharma stocks --- newly-listed Navana Pharma posted 9.25 per cent rise to close at Tk 93.30, followed by Orion Pharma 7.73 per cent to Tk 90.60, and Ambee Pharma 7.57 per cent to Tk 523 on Tuesday.
Ambee Pharma's stock jumped as the company returned to profit in the fiscal 2021-22. The drug maker made a profit of Tk 8.06 million in FY22 after suffering a loss of Tk 13 million a year before.
As a result, the company declared 10 per cent cash and a 20 per cent stock dividend for FY22, according to a disclosure posted on the DSE website on Tuesday.
Beacon Pharma also saw 5.80 per cent price hike to close at Tk 263.40, contributing 6.0 points to the surge of the DSEX, according to amarstock.com, a market data analyst.
Besides, Sonali Paper & Board Mills, Orion Pharma, Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa and Navana Pharma jointly contributed 16 points rise of the DSEX.
Block trades contributed 4.0 per cent of the overall market turnover where stocks like Renata, Beximco Pharma, Al-Arafah Islami Bank, Beximco and Sea Pearl Beach Resort dominated the trading.
The turnover on the prime bourse also rose 21 per cent to Tk 4.28 billion, increased from the four-month low of Tk 3.52 billion the day before.
The pharma sector dominated the turnover chart, capturing 21.8 per cent, followed by IT 16.20 per cent and life insurance 14.3 per cent.
A majority of the stocks, however, remained stuck at the floor due to the lack of potential buyers. Of the issues traded, 78 advanced, six advanced and 229 remained unchanged on the DSE floor.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also bounced back with its All Share Price Index - CASPI -rising 34 points to settle at 18,416 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX rising 20 points to close at 11,034.
The port city's bourse traded 1.21 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 70 million.

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