DSE turnover hits seven-month high -

Stocks continued to rally on Monday, with the daily turnover on the prime bourse hitting a fresh seven-month high as investors put fresh bets on stocks amid growing confidence in the market.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 14.78 billion on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), up 40 per cent from the previous day's turnover of Tk 10.58 billion.
It was the biggest single-day transactions since January 23 this year, when the turnover totalled a record Tk 14.82 billion.
Along with the increasing turnover, the benchmark DSEX index, climbed 40.67 points or 0.65 per cent to finish at 6,300.13. The DSEX soared 151 points or 2.46 per cent in the past five trading days.
Two other indices of the DSE also ended higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, rose 21.18 points to finish at 2,247 and the DSE Shariah index soared 7.44 points to close at 1,380.
Market insiders said the investor confidence got a boost amid the declining trend of fuel prices on the global market as well as the stability in the foreign exchange market following the central bank's steps.
Retail investors also increased their participation, hoping that the market will not fall further due to the regulatory assurance that the 'floor price' will remain in place until further order, said a merchant banker.
According to International Leasing Securities, stocks extended the rally with increased turnover as optimistic investors continued their buying spree amid growing confidence in the market.
EBL Securities said in its review: "The investors' concern regarding the potential gloomy outlook of the economy is slightly mitigated by the steps taken by Bangladesh Bank to stabilise the exchange rate and the news of importing oil from Russia," said EBL Securities.
Five large-cap companies -- Beximco, Beacon Pharma, GPH Ispat, Titas Gas and Orion Pharma -- jointly contributed a rise of 20 points to the DSEX, according to amarstock.com, a market data analyst.
The textile sector kept its dominance on the turnover list, capturing 17 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by miscellaneous sector (14 per cent) and pharmaceuticals (12 per cent).
Most of the major sectors posted gains. Miscellaneous sector booked the highest gain of 1.20 per cent, followed by pharma (0.90 per cent), power (0.80 per cent), engineering (0.70 per cent), financial institutions (0.40 per cent) and banking (0.05 per cent).
Gainers took a modest lead over the losers, as out of 380 issues traded, 164 closed higher, 117 ended lower and 99 others remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco became the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 1.26 billion changing hands, followed by Orion Pharma, Delta Life Insurance, LafargeHolcim and Bangladesh Spinning Corporation.
Fareast Life Insurance was the day's top gainer, gaining 10 per cent while First Finance was the day's worst loser, shedding 5.0 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) gaining 122 points to settle at 18,512 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rising 75 points to close at 11,092.
Of the issues traded, 144 advanced, 81 declined and 83 issues remained unchanged.
The port-city bourse traded 11.12 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 327 million.

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