Business Desk :
DSEX, the key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), on Thursday crossed the 7,200-mark for the first time since its inception in 2013 as the large capitalised stocks observed considerable buying pressure.
The index was in rising trend over the last eight sessions in a row.
On Thursday, the key index gained 62.42 points of 0.86 per cent to settle at 7,258.74 points at the Dhaka bourse, while the market capitalisation of the Dhaka bourse stood at the historically highest level of Tk 5,86,318 crore. At the same time, the daily turnover increased by 5.52 per cent to Tk 2,697 crore, with the pharmaceutical sector dominating the turnover chart covering 13.23 per cent of it.
At the day’s end, DSES and DS30 added 20.40 points and 33.59 points respectively to their previous day’s level.
Out of the 376 issues traded, 177 advanced, 177 declined, and 22 remained unchanged at the Dhaka bourse.
Among major sectors, life insurance, mutual fund and engineering sectors experienced price appreciation, while textile, IT and services & real estate sectors faced correction. EBL Securities, in its daily market commentary, said that the key index increased by 62.42 points despite the market witnessed a steep downturn at the beginning of the session.
Move to mop-up excess liquidity and rise of private sector credit growth made investors anxious on the bourse in the morning, it noted.
However, the large capitalised stocks, namely Square Pharma, BEXIMCO Pharma, and Olympic Industry, have observed considerable buying pressure that helped the market to ascend further.
Observing the recent unusual price hike of the stocks with poor earnings, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has recently asked the DSE to find out the reasons.
In its letter to the prime bourse on Wednesday, the securities regulator also ordered to check if any market intermediary lent their clients to buy stocks with price to earnings (PE) ratio of over 40.
Stock market insiders said that the indices of the Dhaka bourse continued to scale new record highs while in-line earnings growth of listed companies and positive regulatory stances lifted investors’ participation on the trading bourse.
Recently, the BSEC chairman said that the commission has been working to ensure good returns for investors as well as good corporate governance in the market to regain their confidence in the stock market.
According to the analysts, the factor tempted the investors to remain active on the trading floor which has pushed the index to add 62 points over the last session.
Besides, the securities regulator approved the revised public issue rules extending the general investors quota in the initial public offering which has encouraged the investors, they said.
The stock brokerage house noted that Square Pharmaceuticals continued to top the turnover list for the second straight day on Thursday, closely followed by Beximco Pharma, Beximco, BATBC and Meghna Life Insurance.
On the sectoral front, Pharma and Chemical (13.23 per cent), Engineering (13.04 per cent), and Textile (9.55 per cent) issues were in most demand at the Dhaka bourse.
Most of the sectors observed satisfactory performance, out of which Life Insurance (4.6 per cent), Mutual Fund (3.0 per cent), and Paper (2.4 per cent) have exerted the most returns while Textile (-1.3 per cent), IT (-1.1 per cent), and Services (-0.8 per cent) observed corrections at the bourse.
Meanwhile, the port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also ended in green terrain. The selected indices (CSCX) and All Share Price Index (CASPI) advanced by 93.5 points and 152.4 points respectively.
The turnover value of Tk 96 crore in the CSE. Out of the 332 issues traded, 144 advanced, 167 declined, and 21 remained unchanged on the bourses.
