Stocks post modest gain as blue-chips lose lustre

FE Report | Published: August 28, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Stocks posted modest gain for the second session in a row on Thursday as cautious investors traded lower.
"Global stock markets turmoil kept the local investors cautious, which was reflected in lower volume of trade though there is no direct relationship," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
"Our stock market is not dependent on foreign investment. Foreign portfolio investment in our local stock market is insignificant - less than 2.0 per cent," he said.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 7.16 points or 0.14 per cent to settle the week at 4,812.82.
The two other indices also closed in green. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, gained 2.91 points or 0.15 per cent to finish at 1,840.88. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) advanced 3.03 points or 0.25 per cent to end at 1,186.70.
Turnover, the crucial barometer of the market, came down to Tk 4.21 billion, which was 2.32 per cent lower than the previous session's Tk 4.31 billion.
The participants remained mostly focused on phrama, power and engineering - the sectors that accounted for 19 per cent, 17 per cent and 12 per cent respectively of the day's total turnover.
LankaBangla Securities, a stockbroker, said, "Index crept up on the closing day of the week with muddled perception about the market direction".
The stockbroker noted that all the blue-chip stocks flattened on the day or closed in the red as those lost appeal to investors, while some small-cap stocks reignited.
"Investors were observing macro-economic landscape and searching for lucrative spreads to book quick profit over the day's volatilities," said IDLC Investments, a merchant bank.
International Leasing Securities, a stockbroker, said, "The watchfulness lingered, while a major group of investors demonstrated buying interest in comparatively fundamentally sound stocks following the recent downbeat momentum".
Among the major sectors, fuel and power posted the highest gain of 1.39 per cent ahead of earning declaration. It was followed by food and allied 0.47 per cent. Banks edged up 0.15 per cent. Pharmaceuticals and cement closed flat.
The gainers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 322 issues traded, 160 closed higher, 105 higher and 57 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Activities decreased on the major bourse where volume and trade were down by 5.83 per cent and 2.68 per cent respectively. A total number of 0.097 million trades were executed, with 103.53 million securities trading.
The market capitalisation of the DSE stood at Tk 3,370 billion against Tk 3,364 billion in the previous session.
Square Pharma dominated the day's turnover chart with shares of Tk 295 million changing hands, followed by Islami Bank, Titas Gas, Shahjibazar Power Company and Lafarge Surma Cement.
Standard Ceramics was the day's best performer, posting a rise of 9.76 per cent while Kay & Que was the day's worst loser, plunging by 6.61 per cent.
The port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed in green with its Selective Categories Index - CSCX - gained 8.74 points to end the week at 8,970.61.
Gainers beat losers, with 41 issues remaining unchanged on the port city bourse that traded 9.12 million shares and mutual fund units valued at Tk 298 million.
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