Stocks bounced back in the gaining streak on Wednesday, snapping a two-day sharp fall, as bargain hunters went on late hours buying spree on lucrative issues.
The market opened sharply lower and the key index lost 60 points in the first hour of trading. But, late hours buying pressure helped bounce back the market index at the end of the session.
DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, went up by 10.90 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 6,584, after losing over 88 points in the past two consecutive sessions.
Two other indices also edged up with the DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, gaining 8.80 points to close at 2,440 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) advanced 4.91 points to finish at 1,447.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 5.29 billion, which was 0.60 per cent lower than the previous day's tally of Tk 5.32 billion.
Market operators said the optimistic investors showed their buying interest in sector specific stocks which saw sharp correction in the past few days' price erosion.
"The market rebounded as some investors have shown their positive attitude towards the market in the later part of the session," said a merchant banker.
Support from some institutional investors, including state-run Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, also helped the market index to edge higher, he said.
Price surge of some large-cap stocks such as Square Pharma, Beacon Pharma, Walton, Grameenphone and Prime Bank jointly added 12 points to the DSEX, according to amarstock.com, a market data analyst.
The investors' sentiment, however, remained pessimistic as liquidity crunch in the money market, rising inflation and interest rate and expanding current account deficit, said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.
"Despite the market edging higher, investors' remained cautious due to concerns over the macroeconomic scenarios led by global price instabilities," said EBL Securities.
The stockbroker noted that investors' fears loomed amid the global economic turmoil owing to commodity market volatility and price increases for essentials, resulting in a liquidity shortage in the capital market as most investors are hesitant to participate in the market.
Among the major sectors, pharmaceuticals posted the highest gain of 0.60 per cent, followed by engineering with 0.30 per cent and banking 0.30 per cent.
On the other hand, financial institutions and general insurance lost 0.60 per cent each.
Losers, however, took a modest lead over the gainers, as out of 380 issues traded, 185 declined, 130 advanced and 65 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco was the most traded stock with shares worth Tk 538 million changing hands, followed by Sonali Papers & Board Mills (Tk 309 million), IPDC Finance Tk 211 million), Provati Insurance (Tk 149 million) and Square Pharma (Tk 142 million).
The newly listed JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing continued to top the gainer list for the tenth straight session, posting a 9.82 per cent gain while Takaful Islami Insurance was the day's worst loser, losing 4.97 per cent following its corporate declaration.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also edged higher with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -gaining 17 points to settle at 19,366 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX-rising 10 points to close at 11,619.
Of the issues traded, 164 declined, 65 advanced and 42 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port-city bourse traded 6.43 million shares and mutual fund units while turnover was Tk 189 million.
Trading on the bourses will remain closed today (Thursday) due to Bengali New Year.
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