Stocks nudge higher after single-day break -

Stocks finished modestly higher Monday as some investors went for late hour bargain hunting while most investors remained shaky amid lack of clear direction.
The market index closed marginally higher after the previous day's moderate correction.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 19.24 points or 0.30 per cent to settle at 6,320, after losing over 26 points in the previous day.
The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) also advanced 1.93 points to close at 1,380. However, the DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, fell 1.38 points to finish at 2,285.
Turnover, the crucial indicator of the market, rose to Tk 7.0 billion, which was 18 per cent higher than the previous day's one-month lowest turnover of Tk 5.94 billion.
Market operators said some of the investors preferred to book profit while the others took the opportunity of buying stocks at lucrative prices.
Although the market managed to close in green, volatility continued, as most investors remained shaky amid rising cost of living due to soaring inflation and increasing virus cases, said a merchant banker.
"The investors are struggling amid ongoing market volatility while several stocks failed to attract buyers due to the lowered limit of circuit breaker," he said.
He said many investors favored staying on the sidelines as concerns loomed due to rising trend of coronavirus cases and the persisting macroeconomic worries.
The daily Covid-19 cases are rising alarmingly again as two people died from Covid-19 and 2,101 new cases were recorded in 24 hours until 8:00am Monday. The current positivity rate is 15.20 per cent.
"Concerns among investors prevail due to challenges of unfavorable macroeconomic indicators such as runaway inflation and the mounting pressure on the foreign exchange market," said EBL Securities.
As a result, the majority of investors remained conservative in afresh investments in the capital market and favored observing market momentum further, said the stockbroker.
The investors put their money cautiously on selective stocks as they find some issues at lucrative prices, said a leading broker.
Five large-cap issues such as Walton, Beximco Green Sukuk, Brac Bank, Renata and United Power jointly contributed more than 11 points gain of the DSEX, according to amarstock.com, a market data analyst.
Major sectors showed mixed performances. General insurance, engineering, banking, power and pharma sectors gained by 1.60 per cent, 0.60 per cent, 0.50 per cent, 0.20 per cent and 0.10 per cent respectively.
On the other hand, telecom, financial institutions and food sectors suffered losses by 0.60 per cent, 0.40 per cent and 0.10 per cent respectively.
Gainers took a strong lead over the losers as out of 382 issues traded, 237 advanced, 91 declined and 54 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco was the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 460 million changing hands, followed by Shinepukur Ceramics (Tk 284 million), Fu-Wang Food (Tk 218 million), JMI Hospital Requisite (Tk 127 million) and Fu-Wang Ceramic (Tk 123 million).
Alltex Industries was the top gainer, posting a 9.91 per cent gain while Fortune Shoes was the day's worst loser, losing 1.99 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed marginally higher with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -gaining 43 points to settle at 18,616 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX -gaining 26 points to close at 11,159.
Of the issues traded, 144 advanced, 103 declined and 43 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city's bourse traded 12.04 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value worth of Tk 612 million.

[email protected]