Stocks close higher for third day

Stocks edged another positive session Wednesday for the third running session with increased participation as investors continued on buying mood on large-cap stocks. The market opened with a positive note which continued throughout the session. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) closed above the 4,400 ‘psychological’ level to 4,403.64 points, gaining 10.70 points or 0.24 per cent. The other two indices also closed positive. The DS30, comprising blue chips gained 4.94 points or 0.30 per cent to close at 1,619.32 points while the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) moved up by 6.48 points or 0.64 per cent to close at 1,007.24 points. The total turnover crossed Tk 3.0 billion mark after 6-session and amounted to Tk 3.38  billion, which was 20.72 per cent higher compared to previous session’s value of Tk 2.80 billion. The gainers took a strong lead over the losers, as out of 297 issues traded, 200 advanced, 73 declined and 24 remained unchanged on the DSE floor. Lafarge Surma Cement was the most traded stocks with shares worth Tk 254.45 million changing hands followed by, GP, Square Pharma, BSCL and Beximco. Wata Chemicals was the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 8.72 per cent while Samata Leather Complex was the day’s worst loser, slumping by 4.18 per cent. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed marginally higher with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – gained 20.28 points to close at 8,401.30 points. Gainers beat losers 132 to 52, with 24 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 8.22 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 259.14 million.