The stock market managed to close higher on Thursday, snapping a seven-day losing streak, as investors sought bargain hunting opportunities in sector-specific lucrative stocks.
The recovery of the market index was mostly driven by Square Pharma, Uttara Bank, Bangladesh Monospool Paper, Paper Processing & Packaging, and Al-Arafah Islami Bank. They jointly accounted for 15 points rise of the core index.
The market opened higher and the key index rose about 40 points until the first half of the session, while the subsequent sell pressure from risk-averse investors eroded most of the early gains.
The DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), finally settled at 6,274, with nearly 18 points or 0.28 per cent increase, after it lost 191 points in the past seven days.
EBL Securities, in its regular market analysis, said the market managed to end marginally higher for price appreciation of some large-cap stocks.
Square Pharma accounted for 5.7 points rise of the key index, while Uttara Bank contributed 5 points rise of the Dhaka bourse's major index.
However, most of the investors preferred to take a 'wait-and-see' approach due to the prevailing volatility in the market and look for lucrative investment opportunities, said the stockbroker.
The DS30 index, which consists of blue-chip stocks, advanced more than 7 points to 2,139 and the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, saw a fractional gain of 0.75 point to 1,360.
Turnover, the crucial indicators of the market, stood at Tk 8.62 billion, which was 13 per cent higher than the previous day.
Investors were mostly active in the textile sector, leading to the sector grabbing 19.7 per cent of the day's turnover, followed by pharmaceuticals and banking sectors.
The textile sector also posted the highest gain of 3.40 per cent, followed by paper, banking, engineering and general insurance, while the travel & leisure sector saw the highest correction, losing 2.20 per cent, followed by services, IT and jute sectors.
A majority of the stocks traded saw price appreciation; Out of 399 issues traded, 197 closed higher, 139 ended lower and 63 remained unchanged on the DSE floor.
Uttara Bank became the most traded stocks, with shares worth Tk 349 million changing hands, followed by newly-listed Best Holdings (Tk 272 million), Monno Fabrics (Tk 226 million), Alif Industries (Tk 202 million) and Gemini Sea Food (Tk 192 million).
VFS Thread Dyeing was the top gainer, soaring 10 per cent, while Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills was the worst loser, shedding 6.83 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also edged up with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)-gaining 55 points to 18,005 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rising 32 points to 10,783.
Of the issues traded, 120 advanced, 96 declined and 38 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 4.40 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover of Tk 119 million.
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