Stocks closed higher on Sunday, the first trading day of November, as bargain hunters renewed their appetite for large-cap issues during the corporate declaration season.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), soared 50.58 points or 1.04 per cent to settle at 4,896.
Two sub-indices also edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 19.88 points to finish at 1,700 and the DSE Shariah Index rose 12.10 points to close at 1,110.
Market analysts said bargain hunters went on a buying spree for the selective large-cap issues based on latest year-end dividend and quarter-end earnings declarations.
Investors were active on stocks which declared expected dividend and quarterly earnings, pushing the market index higher, said a merchant banker.
The EBL Securities said selective large-cap issues and stocks with satisfactory earnings were the main stimuli which led the market momentum to green trajectory.
The hyped-up insurance stocks grabbed the most attention since investors deemed to book capital gain from their holdings in the sector, said the stockbroker.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, however, fell to Tk 7.85 billion, which was 18 per cent lower than the previous day's turnover of Tk 9.63 billion.
The general insurance sector continued to dominate the turnover board, capturing 31 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by pharma sector (15 per cent) and mutual fund (12 per cent).
Most of the sectors gained, with the engineering sector registering the highest gain of 3.10 per cent, followed by general insurance (3.0 per cent), pharmaceuticals (1.10 per cent), financial institutions (0.50 per cent) and banking sector (0.20 per cent).
Gainers took a strong lead over the losers, as out of 358 issues traded, 203 ended higher, 81 closed lower while 74 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
A total of 159,102 trades were executed in the day's trading session with a trading volume of 327.85 million shares and mutual fund units.
The market capitalisation of DSE reached Tk 3,950 billion on Sunday, up from Tk 3,912 billion the previous day.
Beximco Pharma topped the turnover list with shares worth Tk 740 million changing hands, closely followed by Asia Pacific Insurance, Beximco, Grameen One: Scheme Two and Express Insurance.
Summit Alliance Port was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 13.14 per cent while Zeal Bangla Sugar Mills was the worst loser, shedding 17.45 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI) soaring 157 points to close at 13,981 while the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rising 90 points to close at 8,410.
Of the issues traded, 153 advanced, 62 declined and 49 remained unchanged on the CSE.
The port city bourse traded 11.93 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of more than Tk 256 million.
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