DSE turnover dips below Tk 2.0b as trading resumes

Prices of some pharmaceuticals & chemical stocks continued to soar as investors are anticipating brisk business amid rising Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh.
Seven out of top 10 gainers on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) came from the pharmaceuticals & Chemicals sector on Sunday as the market reopened after 66-day break due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Shares of ACI, ACI Formulations, Beximco Pharma, Central Pharma, Square Pharmaceuticals, Indo-Bangla Pharma, and ACME Laboratories soared more than 9.0 per cent each on Sunday.
ACI and ACI Formulations which supply hexisol and hand wash jumped 9.96 per cent and 9.91 per cent respectively on Sunday.
Beximco Pharmaceutical's share price also surged 9.88 per cent to close at Tk 66.70 each after the news that the drug maker produced Remdesivir, the potential coronavirus drug.
Among others, Share price of Central Pharma rose 9.98 per cent, Square Pharmaceuticals 9.91 per cent, Indo-Bangla Pharma 9.89 per cent and ACME Laboratories 9.38 per cent on Sunday.
People familiar with the matter said the pharma sector is tracking gains from the overseas trend amid the virus scare.
"People are buying such goods as experts suggest people to keep their hands germ-free to prevent coronavirus," said an analyst.
Meanwhile, DSEX, the key index of the DSE, went up by 52.15 points or 1.30 per cent to close at 4,060 over the last session that took place on March 25 last.
Two other indices also ended higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, soared 34.53 points to finish at 1,365 and the DSE Shariah Index rose 30.91 points to close at 951.
Trading on the bourse took place three hours until 1:30pm, instead of usual four hours as the bourse cut one hour trading time due to ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 1.43 billion on the country's premier bourse, slumping by 59 per cent over the last session's mark of Tk 3.48 billion.
Market analysts said many investors followed 'wait-and-see' strategy ahead of earnings and dividend declaration of banks and non-bank financial institutions.
"The low turnover reflects unwillingness on the part of investors to reinvest their money which is, to some extent, worrisome," said a leading broker.
Of the issues traded, 60 advanced, 68 declined and 195 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor due to circuit breaker.
A total number of 28,873 trades were executed in the day's trading session with trading volume of 43.95 million shares and mutual fund units.
The market-cap of the DSE also rose to Tk 3,161 billion, from Tk 3,122 billion in the last session on March 25.
Square Pharma topped the turnover chart with shares worth Tk 196.56 million changing hands, followed by Beximco Pharma, Grameenphone, Orion Pharma and Beximco.
Beximco was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 10 per cent while AB Bank was the worst loser, losing 10 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended higher with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)-advancing 141 points to close at 11,469 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX -gaining 92 points to finish at 6,952.
Of the issues traded, 31 gained, 24 declined and 54 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 1.61 million shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 33.57 million in turnover.

[email protected]