The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has revamped its blue-chip index, the DSE 30 Index (DS30), with three companies set to join and three others excluded from the list after the latest semi-annual rebalancing.
Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills (BSRM), ACME Laboratories and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh have been included in the DS30 following the latest review conducted by the DSE Index Committee in line with the index methodology.
On the other hand, Kohinoor Chemicals, Unique Hotel & Resorts and industrial gas producer Linde Bangladesh have been excluded following the latest review based on the index selection criteria.
The revised composition of the 30-stock index will come into effect on July 19, according to a statement issued by the country's premier bourse on Sunday.
The index is widely used by institutional and retail investors as a benchmark for assessing the performance of Bangladesh’s equity market.
The DSE said the Index Committee carried out the rebalancing in accordance with the approved index methodology to ensure that the DS30 continues to represent the country's most liquid and fundamentally strong listed companies.
The inclusion of BSRM, one of the country's leading steel manufacturers, ACME Laboratories, a major pharmaceutical company, and state-owned power transmission utility Power Grid Company of Bangladesh is expected to strengthen the index's representation of the manufacturing, healthcare and power sectors.
The DS30, launched in 2013, comprises 30 large and liquid listed companies selected primarily on the basis of free-float market capitalisation, liquidity and investability. The benchmark is widely followed by institutional and foreign investors as well as fund managers to gauge the performance of Bangladesh's equity market.
Market analysts said changes in the composition of the index often attract investors' attention as stocks added to the index may witness increased demand from institutional investors and portfolio managers seeking to align their holdings with benchmark indices.
Conversely, stocks removed from the index may experience some portfolio reallocation by index-tracking investors, although the actual market impact depends on overall investor sentiment and trading activity.
The latest rebalancing comes at a time when investor confidence has been gradually improving following a series of regulatory reforms, supportive fiscal measures and a steady recovery in market turnover.
The benchmark DSEX index recently climbed above the 5,800-point mark for the first time in nearly two years, reflecting renewed buying interest in fundamentally strong stocks.
The DSE reviews the composition of the DS30 every six months to ensure that the benchmark accurately reflects changes in the market and continues to serve as a reliable indicator of the performance of Bangladesh's leading listed companies.
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