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Stocks' record-breaking rally continues on DSE -

Market-cap hits new peak as large-cap stocks surge


FE REPORT | September 08, 2021 00:00:00


Stocks stayed on bull run, with all three indices and market-capitalisation of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) setting new records on Tuesday.

The market opened sharply higher and the upbeat trend sustained till the closure as buoyant investors put fresh bets on major sector stocks, particularly in food, telecommunication and financial institutions.

DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up 65.38 points or 0.92 per cent to settle at more than 7,140-the highest since its inception.

Two other indices--the DSE 30 Index and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) -- followed suit to close at their historical highs of 2,583 and 1,551 points, after surging 37.31 points and 15.77 points respectively.

Turnover, another important indicator of the market, remained high and amounted to Tk 28.66 billion on the country's premier bourse, which was 1.20 per cent lower than the previous day's tally of Tk 29.01 billion.

The market capitalisation of the prime bourse hit a fresh all-time high at Tk 5,800 billion on Tuesday, surpassing the previous day's record high of Tk 5,718 billion.

Market analysts said high confidence of investors coupled with lower interest rate in the banking sector prompted them to perk up their money on stocks.

As stocks climbed a record high almost every day and more and more investors joined the rally with an expectation of better returns from the bullish market, said a merchant banker.

The investors' enthusiasm sustained as the general investors were putting fresh stakes on large-cap stocks amid dividend expectations of June closing companies, said a stockbroker.

"Investors prefer to put their funds in stocks instead of banks as banks are offering deposit rates ranging from 3.0 per cent to 5.0 per cent, which does not even cover the country's inflation rate," he said.

British American Tobacco, the third largest market-cap stock saw a stellar performance which helped the market climb further.

Top positive index contributors of the market --BATBC, Grameenphone, Walton, Robi Axiata and Investment Corporation of Bangladesh-jointly accounted for more than 41 points rise in DSEX, according to data from amarstock.com, a stock market data analyst.

A total number of 379,057 trades were executed in the day's trading session with a trading volume of 701.06 million shares and mutual fund units.

Among the major food & allied generated the highest return, gaining almost 6.0 per cent riding on the sector heavyweight BATBC which soared 7.20 per cent alone, followed by telecom with 2.30 per cent, financial institutions 2.0 per cent, engineering 1.90 per cent, power 1.70 per cent, pharma 1.20 per cent and banking 0.30 per cent.

Cement, jute, paper & printing and travel & leisure sectors saw modest corrections.

Gainers took a modest lead over the losers, as out of 374 issues traded, 177 advanced, 167 declined and 30 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

Beximco, which lost 3.51 per cent, continued to top the turnover list with shares worth Tk 1.32 billion changing hands, closely followed by BATBC (Tk 1.22 billion), Summit Power (Tk 754 million), Saif Powertec (Tk 657 million) and LafargeHolcim (Tk 608 million).

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -rising 134 points to settle at a historical high at 20,797 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX-- gaining 82 points to close at record high at 12,468.

Of the issues traded, 152 declined, 138 advanced and 38 remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.

The port city's bourse traded 36.60 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 1.04 billion.

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