Snapping a two-week losing streak, stocks rebounded in the outgoing week, as bargain hunters put money cautiously on lucrative issues with expectations of higher returns in the new fiscal year.
Of the five trading days this week, the first session saw the stocks fall, but the next four sessions posted modest rise on bargain hunting.
Week on week, DSEX, the key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), climbed 49.29 points or 0.78 per cent to settle at 6,376.94, after losing 153 points in the past two straight weeks.
Market operators said optimistic investors opted to buy shares at lucrative prices throughout the last week of the fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 that ended Thursday.
Some investors also put fresh funds on stocks to take advantage of tax benefits on capital market investments just ahead of the new fiscal year, said a merchant banker.
The optimistic investors went on a buying binge on major-sector stocks with an eye on capital market-supportive monetary policy, he said.
On Thursday, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) unveiled the monetary policy for the new fiscal year, designed to curb inflation without hampering the country's economic growth.
To increase the liquidity flow to the capital market, Bangladesh Bank governor Fazle Kabir said, the central bank has increased the size of the capital market refinancing scheme to Tk 10.09 billion from Tk 1.53 billion.
The International Leasing Securities, a stockbroker, said the investors showed their buying interest throughout the week as they found some stocks with lucrative prices.
However, some of the investors remained cautious due to unfavourable macroeconomic indicators like soaring inflation, instability of exchange rates and rising virus infection cases, it said.
EBL Securities said in its analysis that although the market closed higher, investors' concern remains amid a heated-up foreign exchange market, weakening local currency against dollar and pressure on current account balance.
Two other DSE indices also edged higher -- the DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, gained 3.01 points to finish at 2,295 while the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) rose 3.85 points to close at 1,386.
The week's total turnover stood at Tk 38.57 billion on the prime bourse as against Tk 38.22 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 7.71 billion, up 0.92 per cent from the previous week's average of Tk 7.64 billion.
The investors' activities were mostly focused on the textile sector, capturing 16.20 per cent of the week's total turnover, followed by engineering (11.40 per cent) and miscellaneous (10.60 per cent).
Most major sectors posted gains with the banking sector logging the highest gain of 2.40 per cent, followed by engineering (2.10 per cent), power (1.60 per cent), food (0.50 per cent), cement (0.40 per cent), pharma (0.30 per cent) and general insurance (0.30 per cent).
On the other hand, miscellaneous, telecom, and financial institutions lost 2.80 per cent, 0.60 per cent and 0.40 per cent respectively.
Gainers took a strong lead over the losers, as out of 390 issues traded, 265 advanced, 94 declined and 31 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Newly-listed Meghna Insurance was the week's top gainer, posting a 59.55 per cent gain, while IPDC Finance was the worst loser, shedding 7.22 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher after two weeks with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) gaining 109 points to settle at 18,727 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rising 65 points to close the week at 11,226.
Of the issues traded, 204 advanced, 122 declined and 21 issues remained unchanged on the CSE trading floor.
The port-city bourse traded 73 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 1.95 billion.
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