Stocks snap seven-day losing streak

Stocks posted marginal gain on Tuesday, snapping a seven-day losing streak, as some investors bought shares on lucrative price levels.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,233, advancing 15.58 points or 0.29 per cent after losing 143 points in the past seven days.
The investors were active from the beginning of the session and had buying appetite throughout the session following some volatility during the trading session.
Market operators said the market bounced back as opportunistic investors took position in the undervalued stocks.
"Although the market rebounded in positive territory, most of the investors followed cautious stance amid growing political tension surrounding national elections," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
He noted that it is early to say whether this gain is sustainable amid growing political tension ahead of national elections.
Growing political tensions coupled with year ending effect led the DSE prime index to one-and-a-half-month low and turnover slumped to nine months low on Monday.
The two other indices of the Dhaka bourse also edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 1.25 points to finish at 1843 and DSES (Shariah) index gained 3.69 points to settle at 1,205.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, remained low as the total transaction rose to Tk 3.34 billion, which was 6.37 per cent higher than the previous day's turnover of Tk 3.14 billion.
The textile sector topped the turnover chart, capturing 17 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by pharma with 15 per cent and life Insurance 12 per cent.
"Continued price correction tempted the bargain hunters to take position on the lucrative price level in different stocks, particularly on banking, telecom, power and textile sectors stocks," said International Leasing Securities.
The stockbroker noted that total turnover remained almost same as the investors adopted 'wait-and-see' stance ahead of national elections.
The port city bourse CSE also edged higher with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - gaining 18 to settle at 16,047 points and Selective Categories Index - CSCX - advancing 11 points to finish at 9,709.
The gainers beat the losers as 118 issues closed higher, 87 ended lower and 36 remained unchanged.
The port city bourse traded 4.98 million shares and mutual fund units worth nearly Tk 132 million in turnover.
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