The stock market managed to stay afloat on Monday, after witnessing high volatility, as investors opted to lock in profit from the recent price surge.
The market opened higher and the key equity index rose about 40 points within the first two hours of trading, but the rest of the session wiped out most of the early gains amid profit-booking tendency among investors.
Finally, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), closed 6.17 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 6,407.98, the highest level in ten weeks. The DSEX added about 128 points in the past three trading days.
Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, dropped to Tk 17.45 billion on the country's premier bourse, 17 per cent down from the previous day's 11-month highest turnover of Tk 21.05 billion.
Two other indices also edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, also advanced 4.35 points to finish at 2,275 and the DSE Shariah index gained 2.94 points to close at 1,393.
Market operators said stocks extended the rally amid volatile trading as the investors were active on both sides of the trading fence.
The 'floor-price' rule has led to the recent price surge, with many investors regaining confidence in the market as it did not allow the index to fall below a certain level, said a leading broker.
"Despite the turnover falling a bit, it remained at a satisfactory level," he said, adding that the morning optimism failed to sustain as investors were enticed into profit-taking in the late session.
He noted that the recent recovery signs on the macroeconomic front, particularly foreign exchange market stability, easing inflationary pressures, and stability in energy supply, kept the market afloat.
The market has been heated up due to the recent uptrend, riding on increased participation, which induced the cautious investors to partial liquidation of their holdings amid prevailing macroeconomic concerns, said EBL Securities.
The textile sector kept its dominance on the turnover chart, capturing 17 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by miscellaneous (11.6 per cent) and engineering (10.5 per cent).
Major sectors posted mixed performance. Of them, telecommunications sector booked the highest gain of 1.12 per cent, followed by food (0.52 per cent), power (0.38 per cent) and banking (0.18 per cent).
On the other hand, non-bank financial institutions experienced the highest loss of 1.92 per cent, followed by pharmaceuticals (0.18 per cent) and engineering (0.05 per cent).
Losers took a modest lead over the gainers, as out of 382 issues traded, 188 declined, 123 higher and 71 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco became the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 850 million changing hands, followed by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (Tk 673 million), Fortune Shoes (Tk 640 million), Orion Pharma (Tk 566 million) and IPDC Finance (Tk 535 million).
GBB Power was the top gainer, posting a 9.70 per cent gain while Padma Life Insurance was the worst loser, shedding 6.36 per cent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher, with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) gaining 5.61 points to settle at 18,829 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rising 3.46 points to close at 11,285.
Of the issues traded, 135 advanced, 114 declined and 61 issues remained unchanged.
The port-city bourse traded 14.62 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 420 million.
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