Stocks posted a marginal gain on Wednesday, snapping a two-day losing streak, as bargain hunters went on buying binge on lucrative issues.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 5.59 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 4,934, after losing 69 points in the past two consecutive sessions.
The DSE Shariah Index also gained 1.98 points to close at 1,112. However, the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, saw a fractional loss of 0.82 point to finish at 1,677.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, dropped to Tk 8.88 billion, which was 17 per cent lower than the previous session's turnover of Tk 10.68 billion.
Market analysts said many good stocks have become lucrative following the two-day correction which encouraged some investors to take position.
The shaky investors tried to push down the index but active presence of the bargain hunters helped the index closed in green, said a leading broker.
He also noted that a section of investors are also moving to the primary market as the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) approved a good number of initial public offerings in the past two months.
According to International Leasing Securities, buoyancy in mutual fund, textile, financial institutions and food sectors helped the benchmark index to close in green.
However, the cautious investors reshuffled their portfolios in engineering, cement, life insurance and banking sector stocks, said the stockbroker.
Major sectors showed mixed performances with mutual fund, textile, food and telecom sectors witnessed price appreciation while engineering, cement, banking and power sectors faced price correction.
With the hope of upcoming reforms, investors have taken interest in mutual funds and this sector has achieved significant gain, soaring 7.0 per cent. Prices of all the 37 mutual funds closed green on Wednesday.
Textile, food and telecom sectors also gained 2.90 per cent, 0.60 per cent and 0.10 per cent respectively.
On the other hand, engineering sector suffered 3.70 per cent loss as the sector heavyweight Walton price lost 6.24 per cent after 10 days of bull run.
The cement, banking and power sectors also lost 1.50 per cent, 50 per cent and 0.48 per cent respectively.
Gainers took a strong lead over the losers as out of 355 issues traded, 204 ended higher, 106 closed lower while 45 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
A total number of 184,824 trades were executed in the day's trading session with a trading volume of 431.01 million shares and mutual fund units.
Beximco topped the turnover list with shares worth Tk223 million changing hands, closely followed by Express Insurance, BD Finance, Walton Hi-Tech and Paramount Textile.
Continental Insurance was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 10 per cent while newly-listed Walton Hi-Tech was the worst loser, losing 6.24 per cent as the Walton took the breath after ten consecutive sessions of bull run after listing.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also edged higher with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)-advancing 28 points to close at 14,113 while the Selective Categories Index - CSCX gaining 12 points to close at 8,474.
Of the issues traded, 170advanced, 75 declinedand 38 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 13.96 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of more than Tk264 million.
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