Stocks return to green amid sluggish turnover

Stocks returned to the green Monday after three sessions’ fall with turnover remained sluggish as the investors went for late hour buying spree. The market opened with a negative mood, but late hours buying binge sent the market in green zone. Eventually, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended at 5,157.24 points, gaining 45.60 points or 0.89 per cent from previous session. The other two indices also closed in positive territory. The DS30, comprising blue chips gained 19.63 points or 1.02 per cent to close at 1,946.52 points. The DSE Shariah Index advanced 8.02 points or 0.66 per cent to close at 1,213.39 points. However, the turnover on DSE remained dry. The turnover amounted to Tk 5.05 billion which was 4.53 per cent lower compared to previous session’s value of Tk 5.29 billion. The gainers took a lead over the losers as out of 303 issues traded, 184 advanced, 86 declined and 33 remained unchanged on the DSE floor. The total market capitalisation of the DSE stood at Tk 3,401.92 billion against Tk 3,375.73 billion in the previous session. GP was the most traded stock for the second session with shares worth Tk 391.77 million changing hands followed by MJL BD, Square Pharma, Brac Bank and Lafarge Surma Cement. Shahjibazar Power Company was the day’s highest gainer for the fourth session, posting a rise of 9.97 per cent while First Lease Investmnets was the day’s worst loser, slumping by 7.51 per cent. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed higher with its Selective Categories Index – CSCX – gained 70.80 points to close at 9,685.77 points. Gainers beat losers 99 to 92, with 28 issues remaining unchanged at the port city bourse that traded 8.49 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 341.16 million.