Stocks edge up as investors bet on post-Eid rally

FE Report | Published: May 24, 2026 22:00:23 | Updated: May 24, 2026 22:10:51

The Dhaka bourse edged higher in its final session before the Eid festival, extending its winning streak to five consecutive days as buyers remained active.
At the end of the day's session, the DSEX, the broad index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,335 points with a gain of 7.50 points.
In fact, the benchmark index continued its upward trend since May 19 and the DSEX gained 132 points in total over five sessions till Sunday.
Equity markets typically dip ahead of Eid holidays as investors cash out to cover festival expenses.
Terming the trend "unusual", stockbrokers said the market was supposed to decline for two reasons: the need for funds ahead of the Eid festival and the central bank's directive on a minimum paid-up capital of Tk 20 billion for banks to distribute cash dividends.
But investors remained keen on taking positions in expectation of a positive market trend after the Eid vacation.
Md. Ashequr Rahman, managing director of Midway Securities, said investors expected a resolution of the US-Iran conflict.
Secondly, the finance minister clearly said a thorough reform of the capital market would be visible within two months.
Hopefully, a change in the commission of the securities regulator would also be visible very soon.
"These two factors mainly made investors optimistic about a positive market trend after the Eid vacation. That's why investors are taking positions and the market continued an upward trend," Rahman said.
The Dhaka bourse opened Sunday's session on a positive note, but the DSEX soon declined and the losing momentum sustained for about an hour.
A recovery was observed before mid-session and the trend continued till closure following increased investor participation.
At the end of the session, 161 issues closed with gains while 136 declined and 92 were unchanged.
The premier bourse DSE posted a turnover of Tk 7.78 billion, 13.67 per cent less than the previous session.
The exchange's block board contributed Tk 502 million to the turnover value.
Following the mixed performance of blue chip stocks, the DS30 index recorded a nominal gain of 0.54 points to close at 2,030 points.
Of the 30 blue chip companies, 13 advanced, 14 declined and the remaining three were unchanged.
Among those companies, BRAC Bank was the top index puller while Eastern Bank topped the list of index draggers.
Nahee Aluminum Composite Panel topped the gainers' chart with an appreciation of 9.94 per cent while Fareast Finance & Investment was the worst loser, declining 5.55 per cent per share.
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