Stocks rebound in choppy trade

Stocks bounced back on Thursday, paring some of the previous day's losses, as bargain hunters revealed their buying interest in sector-specific issues.
The benchmark equity index swung between gains and losses several times before closing marginally higher as most of the investors traded cautiously.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), finally edged up 27.83 points or 0.43 per cent to finish at 6,515, after losing over 50 points in the previous day.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, clocked in at Tk 12.43 billion, down 5.0 per cent from the previous day's tally of Tk 13.08 billion.
Market insiders said the bargain hunters showed their interest in lucrative stocks, taking the market index higher after a single-day break.
Some investors remained cautious as the Bangladesh Bank embraced a floating exchange rate for inter-bank transaction that devalued taka against the dollar, according to a stockbroker.
Turnover dropped as many investors remained shaky to put fresh bets on stocks amid lack of clear direction of the market, he said.
Stocks returned to green territory after a single-day break amidst volatility as bargain hunters guided their buying spree towards lucrative sector-specific stocks, said EBL Securities.
The market witnessed a see-saw pattern of trading right from the start of the session, while the last-hour buying pressure on some particular stocks moved the index up, said the stockbroker.
Five large-cap stocks such as Beacon Pharma, JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing, Seal Pearls Beach, Beximco and United Power jointly accounted for 22 points rise of DSEX, according to amarstock.com, a market data analyst.
Two other indices also ended higher. The DS30 Index, comprising blue-chip companies, rose 13.12 points to close at 2,346 and the DSES Index advanced 12.02 points to finish at 1,429.
Large-cap sectors posted mixed performance. Among major sectors, pharmaceuticals booked the highest gain of 1.03 per cent, followed by food 0.08 per cent, power 0.08 per cent.
The non-bank financial institutions saw the highest loss of 0.94 per cent, followed by banking 0.16 per cent, telecom 0.08 per cent and engineering 0.06 per cent.
The miscellaneous sector topped the turnover chart, grabbing 22 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by pharmaceuticals (18 per cent) and engineering (10 per cent).
Most of the traded issues, however, remained unchanged due to the 'floor price' restriction. Of the 371 issues traded, 123 advanced, 107 declined and 141 others remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco became the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 1.81 billion changing hands, closely followed by Orion Pharma (Tk 960 million), JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing (Tk 645 million), BDCOM Online (Tk 311 million) and Nahee Aluminum Composite Panel (Tk 297 million).
BDCOM Online was the day's top gainer, posting a 10 per cent rise while Bay Leasing & Investment was the worst loser, losing 5.53 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also edged higher with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) rising 73 points to settle at 19,141 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) gaining 44 points to close at 11,473.
Of the issues traded, 91 declined, 88 advanced and 85 issues remained unchanged.
The port-city bourse traded 4.56 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 184 million.

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