Stocks witnessed yet another upbeat session on Wednesday, with the key index exceeding 5,600 points after three months, as buoyant investors continued their buying spree.
The market rally was largely supported by fundamentally-strong stocks as the recent developments in the country's political landscape boosted investors' confidence.
Substantial price surge of large-cap stocks, including blue chips, helped the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) gain more than 192 points or 3.54 percent to 5,619, the highest since May 13 this year.
The DSEX added 389 points in the past two days while the market cap increased by Tk 337 billion after Sheikh Hasina stepped down as prime minister.
Square Pharmaceuticals, BAT Bangladesh, BRAC Bank, Islami Bank, and Grameenphone jointly accounted for half of the index gain.
Square Pharma, which surged 5.1 per cent, caused more than 29-point rise of the index alone, followed by BAT Bangladesh that drove a 20-point rise of the index.
Other blue chip stocks, including multinational companies, such as Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever Consumer Care, Marico, Linde Bangladesh and Berger Paints also witnessed price appreciation.
Subsequently, the blue-chip index DS30, a group of 30 prominent companies, surged more than 87 points to 2022 while the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, rose 42 points to 1,219.
Meanwhile, Islami Bank stock took off from the floor after 15 months on Wednesday, soaring 9.82 per cent to Tk 35.8 per share on the Dhaka bourse as investors rushed to buy its shares expecting ownership change after the fall of the Awami League-led government.
Islami Bank is among the six companies with floor price still in effect.
Islami Bank witnessed a massive change in its board and management in early 2017 as Armada Spinning, a concern of the business giant S Alam Group, took control of the bank "unlawfully". The board's chairman and managing director along with a number of directors were replaced overnight.
"The optimistic investors rushed to capitalize on oversold stocks as they had become cheap after sharp corrections in recent times," said Akramul Alam, head of research at Royal Capital.
He said investors were hopeful about the return of good governance in the market after the news of the formation of an interim government.
Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said on Wednesday that the interim government, headed by Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, will be sworn in today (Thursday).
"Investors are hopeful of proper regulatory activities and good governance in the stock market under the interim government," said Mr Alam.
According to EBL Securities, buyers maintained their dominance as optimistic investors kept on chasing the current rallies, while the continuous price appreciation of major blue chip and large cap stocks added much strength to the upward market momentum.
Increased participation of buoyant investors pushed the turnover to one-month high to Tk 7.76 billion, more than 3 per cent increase from the day before.
Pharmaceuticals, banking and food sectors accounted for 45 per cent of the day's total turnover.
Most of the traded stocks saw price surge as among 396 issues traded, 266 closed higher, 114 closed in the red while 16 remained unchanged.
All the large-cap sectors posted positive performance. The non-bank financial institution booked the highest gain of 9.42 per cent, followed by telecom 9 per cent, food 7 per cent, banking 5 per cent, power 4.45 per cent, pharma 3 per cent and engineering 3 per cent.
Large-cap stocks dominated the turnover list after a long time. BAT Bangladesh, which soared 8.64 per cent, became the most traded stock with shares worth Tk 549 million changing hands, and was closely followed by Square Pharma, Robi, City Bank, and DBH Finance.
ACI Formulation was the highest gainer, soaring 10 per cent, while Crystal Insurance was the top loser, shedding 3 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended sharply higher, with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI) soaring 545 points to 15,938, while the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) jumped 330 points to 9,609.
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