Stocks extend rally for eighth week

Stocks extended their rally for the eight consecutive weeks that ended on Thursday as investors continued to put fresh bets on stocks amid high expectations.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled a record Tk 6.03 trillion national budget for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-2022 on Thursday.
The finance minister proposed corporate tax rate cut for listed companies by 2.5 percentage points to 22.5 per cent which will increase the companies' profitability, market operators said.
Week-on-week, DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 67.61 points or 1.13 per cent to settle above the 'psychological' threshold of 6,000-mark at 6,053.
It was also the highest level of DSEX in 40 months since February 14, 2018, when DSEX was 6,102. The benchmark index added nearly 798 points in the eight straight weeks.
Market capitalisation of DSE also surged to a fresh all-time high at more than Tk 5,089 billion on Thursday, snapping the previous high of Tk 5,052 billion recorded on Wednesday.
Two other indices also ended higher with the DSE30 Index, comprising blue chips, rose 13.85 points to finish at 2,203 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) gained 8.16 points to close at 1,293.
Market experts opined that lower returns on the money market, limited scope of investment in other instruments, regulatory reforms and earnings of listed firms are the reasons behind the recent bullish trend in the stock market.
The investors' enthusiasm sustained, as the institutional investors, including high net worth individual investors, were putting fresh funds on stocks, particularly on insurance stocks, he said.
The week's total turnover on the prime bourse jumped to Tk 102.58 billion which was Tk 76.83 billion in the week before as last week saw five trading days instead of previous week's four.
The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 20.51 billion, which was 6.82 per cent higher than the previous week's average of Tk 19.21 billion.
The recent growth in turnover and index - the two most important indicators of the market in general - suggests that the investors' confidence in the market is back, said a leading broker.
He noted that expectation about positive performance and favorable earnings declarations continued to encourage the investors to take position on major sector stocks.
The positive expectations from the budget, which unveiled on Thursday, tempted the investors to take position in stocks, commented International Leasing Securities.
The stockbroker noted that the investors found the capital market as a suitable place for investment due to lower return from money market along with the attractive corporate declarations amid declining Covid-19 infection cases.
The general insurance sector dominated the turnover board and captured around 24 per cent of the total weekly turnover, followed by banking with 19 per cent and textile 8.0 per cent.
General insurance also generated the highest return, gaining 13.5 per cent, followed by life insurance with 6.8 per cent and cement 5.3 per cent.
Banking and food sectors witnessed price correction of 1.60 per cent and 1.0 per cent respectively.
Gainers took a modest lead over the losers, as out of 371 issues traded, 192 advanced, 130 declined and 49 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco - the flagship company of Beximco Group - was the most- traded stock with shares worth Tk 5.25 billion changing hands, followed by Pioneer Insurance (Tk 2.44 billion), IFAD Autos (Tk 2.33 billion), LankaBangla Finance (Tk 2.03 billion) and Dutch-Bangla Bank (Tk 1.97 billion).
Global Insurance was the week's top gainer, posting a gain of 39.58 per cent following its corporate declaration while First Finance was the worst loser, losing 15.58 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also kept rising with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -soaring 196 points to settle at 17,543 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX- rising 120 points to close at 10,574.
Of the issues traded, 177 advanced, 117 declined and 35 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port city's bourse traded 133.8 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 3.78 billion.

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