Stocks ended marginally higher on Thursday, after a two-day correction, as bargain hunters showed their buying interest in selective issues.
The market swung between positive and negative territories before closing marginally higher although prices of most stocks remained unchanged.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled the day 12.55 points or 0.19 per cent higher at 6,564, after losing almost 50 points in the past two days.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, dropped further to Tk 16.66 billion on the premier bourse, down 8.0 per cent from the previous day's tally of Tk 18.08 billion.
Three most-traded firms jointly accounted for almost 27 per cent of the day's total turnover with Orion Pharma contributing 12.10 per cent, Beximco 9.20 per cent and Bangladesh Shipping Corporation 5.70 per cent.
Investors were active on both sides of the trading fence, while buyers dominated the market in the end as bargain hunters aimed their buying appetite at lucrative sector-specific stocks, said EBL Securities.
However, recent macroeconomic adversities, particularly the latest gloomy economic forecasts from ADB, as well as declining foreign exchange reserves, have prompted investors to remain watchful and partially liquidate their holdings, said the stockbroker.
Amid an ongoing dollar crisis, the country's foreign exchange reserves dropped to $36.97 billion on Wednesday as the central bank continues to sell the greenback to facilitate government imports.
Most of the traded issues, however, remained unchanged due to the 'floor price' restriction. Of the 375 issues traded, 131 advanced, 78 declined and 166 others remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Major sector showed mixed performance. Power sector booked the highest gain of 1.41 per cent, followed by engineering (0.52 per cent), food (0.10 per cent) and telecom (0.03 per cent).
On the other hand, pharmaceuticals experienced the highest loss of 0.62 per cent, followed by non-bank financial institutions (0.18 per cent) and banking (0.16 per cent).
The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) also saw a fractional gain of 0.37 points to close at 1,436. However, the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, dropped 9.14 points to finish at 2,365.
Orion pharma became the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 1.95 billion changing hands, followed by Beximco (Tk 1.52 million), Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 923 million), JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing (Tk 563 million) and Shahjibazar Power (Tk 450 million).
ADN Telecom was the day's top gainer, soaring 10 per cent while Jute Spinners was the worst loser, losing 7.98 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also edged higher with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) rising 26 points to settle at 19,345 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) gaining 15 points to close at 11,596.
Of the issues traded, 91 advanced, 63 declined and 107 issues remained unchanged.
The CSE traded 35.38 million shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Tk 995 million.
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