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Stocks return to green after single-day break -

DSE turnover crosses Tk 7.0b mark again


FE REPORT | April 27, 2022 00:00:00


Dhaka stocks returned to the green on Tuesday, after a single-day break, as investors went on late hours' buying spree on sector-wise issues based on corporate declarations.

DSEX, the prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, went up by 10.65 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 6,677, after losing over 16 points in the previous day.

The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) also advanced 1.76 points to close at 1,456. However, the DSE30 Index, comprising blue chips, fell 2.24 points to finish at 2,474.

Turnover, an important indicator of the market, also rose to Tk 7.66 billion on the country's premier bourse, climbing by 29 per cent over previous day's mark of Tk 5.93 billion.

Market operators said the optimistic investors showed their buying interest on sector-specific stocks, riding on the latest earnings and year-end dividend declarations.

"Better-than-expected quarterly earnings and year-end dividend declarations of some of the listed companies attracted investors," said a merchant banker.

Six listed companies -Trust Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, Central Insurance, Bata Shoe Company, Agrani Insurance and Standard Insurance--have declared year-end dividends while 18 companies published quarterly earnings for January-March, 2022 on Tuesday.

Of 18 companies, earnings per share of 11 companies rose for the January-March 2022 quarter compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

Bata Shoe has returned to profits in January to March quarter of 2022 after it suffered losses with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

The shoemaker's profit rose to Tk 5.01 per share for January-March 2022, as against loss of Tk 3.58 per share in the same quarter last year.

Accordingly, the shoe maker's share rose 1.60 per cent to close at Tk 929.90 on Tuesday.

Central Insurance has recommended 18 per cent cash dividend for the year ended December 31, 2021. Accordingly, the insurer's price jumped 6.11 per cent to close at Tk 50.40 on Tuesday.

Trust Bank has recommended 12.50 per cent cash and 10 per cent stock dividend for the year ended December 31, 2021. Its share price rose 3.57 per cent to close at Tk 34.60.

Share prices of Mutual Trust Bank and Agrani Insurance also gained 2.73 per cent and 1.60 per cent respectively on dividend news.

Dhaka stocks observed bargain-hunting on selective issues after active participation of both institute and retail investors helped the market to return to green, said EBL Securities.

Participation has observed a considerable rise as the bottom tier of circuit breaker raised to 5.0 per cent, giving investors a breather to engage in fresh investment activities, said the stockbroker.

However, the risk-averse investors booked profit on quick-gaining stocks as the market rallied recently backed by institutional support, said a leading broker.

"Overall the participants displayed a portfolio restructuring strategy while many investors rushed to participate in hyped-up paper and engineering stocks," said the stockbroker.

Among the sectors, paper & printing posted the highest gain of 6.30 per cent, followed by engineering with 1.20 per cent, power 0.70 per cent, general insurance 0.40 per cent and pharma 0.20 per cent.

Of the 381 issues traded, 163 advanced, 160 declined and 58 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

A total number of 144,993 trades were executed in the day's trading session with a trading volume of 145.23 million shares and mutual fund units.

The market-cap of DSE also rose to Tk 5,390 billion on Tuesday, up from Tk 5,372 billion in the previous session.

Beximco was the most traded-stocks with shares of Tk 520 million changing hands, followed by JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing (Tk 409 million), Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 359 million), Orion Pharma (Tk 349 million), and Sonali Paper & Board Mills (Tk 287 million).

Bangladesh Monospool Paper Manufacturing Company was the day's top gainer, posting 8.01 per cent gain, while Eastern Bank was the day's worst loser, losing 10.15 per cent following its price adjustment after record date.

However, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) edged marginally lower with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -losing 20 points to settle at 19,578 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX -shedding 13 points to close at 11,748.

Of the issues traded, 127 advanced, 103 declined and 30 issues remained unchanged on the CSE.

The port-city bourse traded 5.99 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value worth Tk 199 million.

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