Stocks were back in the green zone on Thursday after a one-day break, as investors went on a buying spree with sector-specific large-cap stocks in sight.
Brokers said the market went green again as a section of investors showed their buying appetite for sector-wise issues ahead of launch of the Bangladesh Bank's next monetary policy statement (MPS) and earnings declarations made by listed companies.
"Ongoing pessimism, upcoming monetary policy announcement coupled with amendment of Banking Companies Act kept many investors watchful, keeping the turnover below Tk 4.0 billion-mark," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
After witnessing volatility in the first 30 minutes of trading, the rest of the trading session saw the main price index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) go up steadily. The index finally closed nearly 24 points higher.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the DSE, which replaced the DGEN five years back, settled at 6,122, advancing 23.90 points or 0.39 per cent over the previous day.
"Mixed sentiment among the investors regarding the capital market outlook prevailed prior to the earnings declaration from the listed companies," commented EBL Securities, a stockbroker, in its regular market analysis.
The stockbroker noted that investors exerted buying pressure, especially on pharmaceuticals, telecommunication and banking sectors.
The two other DSE indices also closed higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 4.97 points or 0.22 per cent to close at 2,241. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) also gained 11.47 points or 0.82 per cent to settle at 1,404.
The market saw lower trading activities. The market turnover totalled Tk 3.58 billion, which was 8.44 per cent lower than the previous day's Tk 3.91 billion.
The pharmaceuticals sector topped the turnover list, accounting for 20 per cent of the day's total transactions. It was followed by the banking sector with 17 per cent and the engineering sector 16 per cent.
According to the AT Capital Partners, the market closed green on the last trading session of the week due to an indecisive trade pattern.
Large-cap sectors performed mostly positive. The pharmaceuticals sector posted the highest gain of 1.35 per cent, followed by telecommunication with 0.35 per cent, food & allied 0.15 per cent, banking 0.14 per cent, fuel & power 0.13 per cent and engineering 0.04 per cent.
Only non-bank financial institutions saw 0.21 per cent price correction.
The gainers took a modest lead over the losers, as out of 334 issues traded, 142 closed higher, 134 lower and 58 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
The Square Pharmaceuticals topped the day's turnover chart with 1.40 million shares worth Tk 450 million changing hands. It was followed by Dragon Sweater, IFAD Autos, Grameenphone and Bangladesh Thai Aluminium.
Renwick Jajneswar & Company was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 7.50 per cent while SEML IBBL Shariah Fund was the day's worst loser, plunging by 6.40 per cent.
The port city bourse CSE also saw the upward swing with the CSE All Share Price Index - CAPSI - advancing 38 points to finish at 18,869.
The Selective Categories Index - CSCX - also gained 19 points to settle at 11,391.
Losers beat gainers as 108 issues closed lower, 89 higher and 42 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 8.63 million shares and mutual fund units worth more than Tk 242 million.
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