Weekly analysis: Stocks climb for third straight week

Stocks extended gains for the third consecutive week that ended on Thursday, as investors went on a buying binge amid post-Eid positive expectations.

Market analysts said retail investors took fresh position on large-cap shares expecting high dividend while institutional investors continued to support the market.

Thursday was the last trading day before the nine-day Eid-ul-Azha holiday, including weekends and public holiday, that began on August 9.

Week on week, the DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), rose 31.68 points or 0.61 per cent to settle at 5,201.

The index gained even as shares of Grameenphone (GP), the largest market-cap company, fell sharply by 5.75 per cent or Tk 19.40 each to close at Tk 317.70 on Thursday due to price adjustment after record date.

The DSE Shariah Index also inched up by 0.03 point to close at Tk 1192. However, the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 0.75 points to finish at 1,837.

The indices saw a bullish trend against the backdrop of positive expectations for corporate disclosures by June year-end companies, commented City Bank Capital Resources in its weekly analysis.

A leading broker said some investors also rebalanced their portfolios throughout the week considering latest quarterly earnings results.

The Bangladesh Bank's move to ease liquidity crisis of non-bank financial institutions through enhancing borrowing capacity of NBFIs from the call money market also made investors optimistic, he said.

Investors were also encouraged by the news that earnings per share (EPS) of most listed banks increased in the first half (H1) of 2019, he added.

The week saw five trading days as usual. Of them, three sessions ended higher while two saw mild correction.

UCB Capital Management said stocks ended higher as pre-Eid sale waned during the week and opportunistic investors took position on undervalued stocks.

According to the International Leasing Securities, stocks ended the week on a high note amid bumpy ride as the investors were active on both sides of the trading fence ahead of Eid holidays.

The total turnover on the prime bourse stood at Tk 23.69 billion, up from Tk 22.02 billion in the week before.

The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 4.74 billion, rising 7.60 per cent over the previous week's average of Tk 4.40 billion.

The market capitalisation of the DSE also rose 0.11 per cent to Tk 3,866 billion on Thursday from Tk 3,861 billion in the previous week.

Block trade contributed 6.0 per cent to the total week's total turnover, with stocks like BIFC, Pragati Life Insurance, Al-Haj Textile, Brac Bank and United Power dominating the block trade board.

Most of the major sectors showed positive performances, with power posting the highest gain of 2.81 per cent, followed by banking (2.31 per cent), non-bank financial institutions (0.88 per cent), pharmaceuticals (0.87 per cent) and engineering (0.76 per cent).

On the other hand, the telecommunications sector witnessed the biggest loss of 5.26 per cent, followed by food (1.13 per cent).

Gainers outnumbered the losers, as out of 355 issues traded, 195 closed higher, 141 ended lower and 19 issues remained unchanged on the DSE floor.

United Power dominated the week's turnover chart, with 2.75 million shares worth Tk 1.70 billion changing hands during the week.

Pragati Life Insurance was the week's best performer, posting a gain of 26.48 per cent while SEML IBBL Shariah Fund was the worst loser, plunging 25.86 per cent.

Coppertech Industries, a newly listed company, made its trading debut in the outgoing week. The newcomer's share price soared 348 per cent from its offering (IPO) price of Tk 10 each on its first trading day.

The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also ended higher, with its CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -gaining 98 points to settle at 15,896 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - advancing 56 points to finish the week at 9,660.

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