Stocks edged higher on Wednesday, with turnover dipping below Tk 12 billion mark after 10 trading days, as most investors followed cautious stance ahead of December-end earnings and dividend declarations.
The market witnessed see-saw movement several times before closing marginally higher as investors traded cautiously.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 8.59 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 7,081. The core index added nearly 30 points in the past two consecutive sessions.
Turnover, the most important indicator of the market, fell below Tk 12 billion-mark after 10 trading days and amounted to Tk 11.50 billion, which was 20.68 per cent lower than the previous day's tally of Tk 14.50 billion.
Market analysts said favourable macroeconomic indicators prompted some investors to take positions in engineering, power, telecom and banking sector stocks despite some profit booking tendency on sector specific issues.
Trading activities were a bit sluggish as most investors are seeking opportunities in potential stocks ahead of the December-end declaration, according to EBL Securities.
Bangladesh's economy pulled off a blistering GDP growth in the last fiscal year which is expected to boost investors' confidence on the trading floor ahead, said the stockbroker.
Despite the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh's economy pulled off a stunning 6.94 per cent growth in the last fiscal year, higher than the initial estimate.
The DSE Shariah Index also gained 1.51 points to close at 1,512. However, the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 5.34 points to finish at 2,604.
The investors' activity was mostly concentrated on pharma sector, grabbing 11.8 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by engineering (11.7 per cent) and miscellaneous (11.5 per cent).
Large-cap sectors posted mixed performance. Engineering booked the highest gain of 0.45 per cent, followed by power with 0.17 per cent, telecom 0.14 per cent and banking 0.12 per cent.
The non-bank financial institutions experienced the highest loss of 0.49 per cent, followed by pharmaceutical with 0.18 per cent and food 0.08 per cent.
Gainers took a strong lead over the losers as out of 379 issues traded, 205 advanced, 128 declined and 46 issues remained unchanged on the DSE.
A total number of 222,282 trades were executed in the day's trading session with a trading volume of 282.91 million securities.
The market capitalisation of the DSE rose to Tk 5,674 billion on Wednesday, up from Tk 5,667 billion in the previous session.
Beximco , which lost 0.67 per cent further, was the most traded stock with shares worth Tk 661 million changing hands, followed by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 546 million), Fortune Shoes (Tk 370 million), Orion Pharma (Tk 368 million) and Bay Leasing & Investment (Tk 307 million).
Tamijuddin Textile Mills was the day's top gainer, posting a 9.98 per cent rise while Yeakin Polymer was the worst loser, losing 4.70 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also posted marginal gain with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -gaining 5.88 points to settle at 20,720 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX-rising 1.13 points to close at 12,445.
Of the issues traded, 143 advanced, 115 declined, and 45 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port-city bourse traded 19.76 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 618 million.
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