DSEX hits eight-month high on gains of blue-chip stocks

Stocks extended the winning streak on Sunday, with the core index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) hitting an eight-month high, as investors put fresh bets on some fundamentally-sound shares.
Blue-chip stock Square Pharma, which took off from the floor after eight months on Thursday, gained 0.81 per cent further to close at Tk 212.10.
Another blue chip stock, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh also jumped 2.90 per cent to Tk 71.40.
Four blue-chip shares --- Square Pharma, LafargeHolcim, Delta Life Insurance and Olympic Industries -- jointly accounted for almost 10-point rise of the main index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
Riding on them, DSEX, the benchmark index of the DSE, went up 26.32 points and settled at 6,367, the highest since November 8 last year.
The DSEX added more than 42 points in the last four trading sessions.
The index hit eight-month high, owing to heightened optimism across the bourse following the regained momentum in some fundamentally strong stocks along with investors' active participation in the trendy stocks in anticipation of quick gains, said EBL Securities.
"Buyer dominance prevailed throughout the session as optimistic investors opted to take positions in equities ahead of the quarterly earnings declarations with positive expectations of capturing a short-term gain," said stockbroker.
Alongside, some low-cap stocks, such as National Feed Mills, Aziz Pipes, Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries, Western Marine Shipyard and some insurance shares dominated the gainers' list.
Most of the sectors posted gains with general insurance attaining the highest return of 4 per cent, followed by the cement and jute sectors.
The DS30 Index, which consists of blue-chip companies, soared 5.86 points to 2,202 and the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, rose 7.88 points to 1,387.
The daily trade turnover on the DSE also rose 24 per cent to Tk 9.34 billion as some investors opted to seize quick gain opportunities in sector-specific shares.
Fu-Wang Food, a small-cap company, continued to dominate the turnover chart, with shares worth Tk 681 million changing hands, closely followed by Lu-reef Bangladesh, Associated Bangladesh, Delta Life Insurance and Rangpur Dairy & Food Products.
Of the 383 issues traded, 130 closed higher, 61 lower and 192 issues remained unchanged.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -gaining 59 points to settle at 18,790. The port city's bourse traded 8.22 million shares and mutual fund units with a transaction volume of Tk 196 million.

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