Stocks extend gains for third straight day

Stocks extended the winning streak for a third straight session on Wednesday amid increased participation of investors.
The day's session opened on an upward trend and the benchmark equities index rose about 37 points within the first hour of trading, but most of the initial gains faded away during late hours due to selling pressure.
Finally, DSEX, the core index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), edged up by 15.53 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 6,241.44.

The DSEX added nearly 93 points in the past three consecutive sessions.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, crossed the Tk 11 billion mark after five days and the total turnover reached Tk 11.60 billion, which was 12 per cent higher than the previous day's tally of Tk 10.35 billion.
Market operators said the bargain hunters showed their appetite for selected stocks that lost most of their value during the recent price erosion.
The institutional investors as well as general investors increased their participation in the market following positive regulatory measures, said a merchant banker.
He noted that the declining oil price in the global market as well as the slight stability in the foreign exchange market due to the central bank's moves improved the investor sentiment to some extent.
Bangladesh Bank has tightened the spread between the buying and selling rates of the US dollar to curb the currency volatility.
EBL Securities said the market participants reacted positively to the recent initiatives from the central bank to manage the ongoing foreign exchange volatility and the continuous decline in oil prices in the global markets.
Besides, the Russian offer to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to sell refined oil to Bangladesh has also positively influenced the investor sentiment, said the stockbroker.
However, some cautious investors are taking it as an opportunity to offload their holdings at later part of the session as they are still worried about the current macroeconomic situation in the country, the stockbroker added.
Two other DSE indices also edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 7.02 points to finish at 2,220.04 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) gained 5.0 points to close at 1,366.38.
The textile sector kept its dominance on the turnover list, capturing 17.80 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by miscellaneous sector (12.2 per cent) and engineering (9.5 per cent).
Major sectors posted gains with cement witnessing the highest gain of 4.10 per cent, followed by general insurance with 1.90 per cent, engineering 0.60 per cent and power 0.20 per cent.
On the other hand, textile suffered the most, losing 1.0 per cent, followed by financial institutions with 0.10 per cent and food 0.10 per cent.
Gainers took a modest lead over the losers as out of 380 issues traded, 156 closed higher, 132 lower and 92 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco became the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 819 million changing hands, followed by Fortune Shoes (Tk 551 million), LafargeHolcim (Tk 547 million), Malek Spinning Mills (Tk 318 million) and IPDC Finance (Tk 288 million).
Anlimayarn Dyeing was the day's top gainer, advancing 9.81 per cent while Tamijuddin Textile Mills was the day's worst loser, shedding 4.52 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed marginally higher, with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) rising 56 points to settle at 18,370 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) gaining 34 points to close at 11,005.
Of the issues traded, 116 advanced, 86 declined and 82 issues remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port-city bourse traded nearly 8.06 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 247 million.
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