Stocks break two-day losing streak

FE Report | Published: May 31, 2017 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Stocks returned to higher Tuesday, breaking a two-day losing spell, as some optimistic investors took position on lucrative stocks.
Analysts said the market rebounded after two days' downfall in prices as some enthusiastic investors went on buying spree on food & allied, fuel & power and bank issues.
"However, this enthusiasm was not vivid among all the market participants as reflected in the downturn in daily turnover value ahead of national budget," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
Trading activities continued to decline and the total turnover came down to Tk 3.18 billion on the prime bourse, which was 7.0 per cent lower than the previous day's Tk 3.42 billion.
It was also the lowest single-day transaction in nearly nine months since September 18, last year, when the turnover was recorded Tk 3.15 billion.
The market started with a positive note and the positive trend continued till end of the session amid periodic small upswings, but final hour's sharp rise helped the market to close 16.68 points higher.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went up by 16.68 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 5,373, after eroding more than 57 points in the past two consecutive sessions.
IDLC Investments, a merchant bank, said, "The market broke out of the downtrend with late session's enthusiasm".
The merchant bank noted that the session had an upbeat start with indices rising in momentum. However, strength subsided within the first hour and market fell to a dispassionate sidewalk. Later on, buying interest condensed in the last hour, pulling the broad and blue chip index up sharply.
The two other indices also edged up. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips advanced 2.73 points or 0.14 per cent to finish at 1,992. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) gained 0.68 points or 0.05 per cent to close at 1,249.
International Leasing Securities, a stockbroker, said, "The watchfulness lingered in the market while some investors demonstrated buying interest in comparatively fundamentally sound stocks following the recent downbeat momentum".
The stockbroker noted that the turnover came down to the lowest since September 2016. The investors' were reluctant to make fresh investment in the current gloomy market ahead of national budget.
Textile sector kept its dominance in turnover chart, grabbing 21 per cent of the day's total transaction, followed by fuel and power 14 per cent and bank 11 per cent.
AT Capital Partners, an asset management company, said, although the closed a mild positive vibe, it remained bearish in terms of turnover value, driven by pre-budget expectation, and observation of holy Ramadan.
Large-cap sectors showed mixed performance during the day. Food and allied posted the highest gain of 1.98 per cent, followed by fuel and power 0.47 per cent, banks 0.39 per cent and non-bank financial institutions 0.19 per cent.
Telecommunication witnessed the highest correction of 0.75 per cent, followed by engineering 0.08 per cent and pharmaceuticals 0.02 per cent.
The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also closed higher with its Selective Categories Index - CSCX - advancing 14.50 points to settle at 10,064.
Gainers beat losers as 101 issues closed higher, 78 ended lower and 37 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 8.44 million shares and mutual fund units' worth Tk239 million in turnover value.
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