The benchmark equity index saw an uptick this week, rebounding from a flat performance in the previous week, as investors showed renewed interest, particularly in banking shares, ahead of their year-end earnings reports.
Gradual easing of adversities on the macroeconomic front and favourable earnings disclosure of some well-performing companies helped revitalise the market's momentum, market analysts said.
Key financial indicators, such as remittance and exports, continue to show growth, while inflation and government securities yields are on the decline. These trends are seen as potential signs of easing bank interest rates in the money market, which typically benefits the equity market.
In February, the average yields on treasury bills (T-bills) dropped to 10.33 per cent, suggesting a potential reduction in both deposit and lending rates by banks in the near future.
Falling inflation and declining Treasury yields spurred bargain hunters to take positions in lucrative shares amid expectations of a reversal of the market's prolonged bearish trend, said a leading stockbroker.
Accordingly, buyers remained on the dominant side as investors chased oversold stocks to capitalise on the market's current upbeat vibe, which they deemed lucrative at the prevailing price levels.
As a result, the first three sessions of the week closed higher while the remaining two sessions ended lower.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), finally settled the week nearly 47 points or 0.90 per cent higher at 5,247.
In its weekly analysis, EBL Securities said the market witnessed positive momentum right from the start of this week, with renewed buying interest also observed in certain beaten down stocks as investors perceived them as lucrative after significant price reductions.
However, profit-booking pressure emerged later in the week as investors opted to capitalize on the invigorated market activity and preferred to remain observant of the market's momentum ahead of the Ramadan, said the stockbroker.
The blue-chip DS30 index, a group of 30 prominent companies, however, lost more than 4 points to close at 1,905 while the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, rose 4 points to 1,167.
Price hike of selective large-cap stocks, particularly heavyweight bank stocks such as Islami Bank, United Commercial Bank and IFIC Bank inspired the market rally as they jointly accounted for a 23-point rise in the key index.
However, low performing stocks continued to see price surge, without any reason for investors to be keen on betting on these stocks.
Five junk stocks -- Aamra Technologies, Ratanpur Steels, Safko Spinning, Seap Pearl Beach and Peninsula Chittagong -- featured in the weekly gainer list, gaining between 37.5 per cent and 17.24 per cent this week.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 25.90 billion this week, up from Tk 23.25 billion the previous week.
Consequently, the average daily turnover crossed Tk 5 billion to Tk 5.18 billion, rising 10 per cent from Tk 4.7 billion the week before.
Investors were mostly active in the textile sector, which accounted for 15 per cent of the week's total turnover, followed by pharma (12 per cent) and banking (12 per cent) sectors.
Most of the major sectors posted gains. The non-bank financial institution sector booked the highest gain of 3.4 per cent, followed by banking, food, pharmaceuticals and engineering.
Orion Infusion was the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 785 million changing hands, followed by Grameephone, Shinepukur Ceramics, Fu-Wang Food and Beach Hatchery.
Meanwhile, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher, with CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) gaining 136 points to 14,633 while its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rose 74 points to 8,868.
The port-city bourse traded 23.7 million shares and mutual fund units, with a turnover value of Tk 1.70 billion.
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