Stocks edge higher for 2nd day

Stocks edged higher for the second running session Thursday with turnover improved further as investors went for buying spree amid optimism.The market opened with a positive note and the upward trend continued till the market closure amid modest see-saw, eventually ended marginally higher.At the end of the day’s session, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) --- DSEX --- ended at 4,761.18 points, gaining 11.94 points or 0.25 per cent from previous session.The other two indices also closed positive. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips went up by 1.01 points or 0.05 per cent to close at 1,688.02 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) advanced 1.35 points or 0.13 per cent to close at 995.27 points.Market participation improved slightly and the total turnover on DSE stood at Tk 3.99 billion, registering 4.38 per cent increase over the previous session’s turnover value of Tk 3.82 billion.The gainers took a strong lead over the losers as out of 290 issues traded, 188 advanced, 78 declined and 24 issues closed unchanged on the DSE floor.The market capitalization of the DSE stood at Tk 2,902.35 billion against Tk 2,893.14 billion in the previous session.Olympic Industries dominated the top turnover chart with shares worth Tk 208.90 million changing hands followed by Square Pharma, BSCCL, Meghna Petroleum and LankaBangla Finance.Desh Garment was the day’s highest gainer, posting a rise of 9.75 per cent while NCC Bank Mutual Fund-1 was the day’s worst losers, slumping by 5.45 per cent.The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed marginally higher with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX gained 8.95 points to close at 9,341.69 points.Gainers beat losers 125 to 79, with 17 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 9.63 million shares and mutual fund units, turnover value of Tk 412.32 million.