Stocks posted modest gain Thursday, extending the gaining streak for the third consecutive session, as investors betted on power, pharma and engineering scrips.
Market insiders attributed the current positive market trend to investors' growing confidence stemming from the regulator's latest move.
The securities regulator Monday called upon the brokerage houses and merchant banks to give lifeline to the falling market. Since then the market has been on a steady gaining streak and DSEX recovered about 162 points in the last three sessions.
The market started with a flying note and remained vibrant throughout the session amid negligible see-saw. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), crossed the 4,100-mark and ended at 4,122.32 points, gaining 32.43 points or 0.79 per cent.
The two other indices also ended higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, moved up by 9.51 points or 0.61 per cent to close at 1,558.20 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) advanced 1.83 points or 0.18 per cent to close at 1,010.40 points.
Turnover, the most crucial barometer of the market, also crossed the Tk 4.0 billion-mark and amounted to Tk 4.19 billion, which was 15 per cent higher than the previous session's Tk 3.64 billion.
The investors' activity was remained mostly focused on power, pharma and engineering - the sectors that accounted for 24 per cent, 21 per cent and 14 per cent respectively of the day's total turnover.
IDLC Investments, a merchant bank, said, "DSEX sustained its gaining streak, as investors cautiously kept injecting fund in the bourse, hoping that the market would substantially recover in the coming days".
"Investors' confidence is gradually improving and panic-driven sell-off reduced as the market rebounded in response to the regulator's move to keep the market afloat," International Leasing Securities said an analysis.
LankaBangla Securities, a stock broker, said, "The benchmark index broke and remained above the 4,100-mark which brought confidence back to the investors".
But an analyst remained sceptic, saying it is an "artificial" attempt and the rally is unlikely to sustain and it may burn fingers of some retail investors afresh.
The investors should carefully invest in a rising market and should analyse the fundamentals of securities before pumping funds, he said.
All the large-cap sectors closed higher, except telecommunication, which lost 1.24 per cent. Power registered the highest gain of 1.51 per cent.
Banks appreciated by 1.00 per cent. Food and allied went up by 0.94 per cent. NBFIs, cement and pharmaceuticals gained 0.65 per cent, 0.51 per cent and 0.33 per cent respectively.
The gainers took a modest lead over the losers as out of 309 issues traded, 189 advanced, 90 declined and 30 remained unchanged on the DSE floor.
Activities increased in the major bourse where trade and volume were up by 14.85 per cent and 7.48 per cent respectively. A total number of 0.116 million trades were executed with trading volume of 97.57 million securities.
The market capitalisation stood at Tk 3,013 billion against Tk 3,000 billion in the previous session.
United Power Generation and Distribution Company continued to dominate the top turnover chart, with shares of Tk 489.38 million changing hands, followed by ACI Formulations, ACI, IFAD Autos and BSCCL.
Confidence Cement was the day's top gainer, posting a rise of 9.95 per cent while Mercantile Bank was the day's worst loser, plunging by 7.89 per cent.
The port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher with its Selective Categories Index - CSCX - gained 57 points to close at 7,717 points.
Gainers beat losers at the port city bourse that traded about 20 million shares and mutual fund units and turnover reached Tk 476 million.
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