Stocks post marginal gain after bumpy ride

Stocks posted a marginal gain on Thursday after volatile trading as investors were active on both sides of the trading fence.

DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 4,978, gaining 6.64 points or 0.13 per cent over the previous day.

Meanwhile, the share price of Walton Hi-Tech Industries continued soaring as its share jumped 50 per cent further on Thursday.

Its share price could not go up further despite high demand from investors due to the imposition of a new circuit breaker. There were few sellers compared to buyers, for which its trade came to a halt at one point.

The local electronics giant’s share closed at Tk 567 each on the DSE on Thursday, soaring 50 per cent, on yesterday’s closing price, also the highest allowable limit.

Market analysts said the cautious investors continued booking profit on majors sectors’ issues which saw substantial gains the past few weeks while optimistic investors took positions on lucrative stocks.

The market edged marginally higher as sell pressure eased to some extent after Walton Hi-Tech Industries made debut trading, said a leading broker.

The DSE Shariah Index also saw a fractional gain of 0.48 point to close at 1,126. However, The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, lost 7.28 points to finish at 1,701.

Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, remained almost the same and amounted to Tk 8.81 billion as against Tk 8.82 billion in the previous day.

Gainers outnumbered the losers as out of 356 issues traded, 172 closed higher, 128 ended lower while 56 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

A total number of 185,393 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with a trading volume of 348.21 million shares and mutual fund units.

The market-cap on the premier bourse rose to Tk 3,946 billion on Thursday, from Tk 3,892 billion in the previous session.

The insurance sector dominated the turnover chart with Nitol Insurance topped the turnover list with shares worth Tk 257 million changing hands, closely followed by Beximco Pharma, Rupali Life Insurance, Rupali Insurance, and Beximco.

Walton Hi-Tech Industries was the best performer, posting a gain of 50 per cent while SEML Lecture Equity Management Fund was the worst loser, losing 3.75 per cent.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended marginally higher with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—gaining 37 points to close at 14,219 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX advanced 16 points to close at 8,528.

Of the issues traded, 151 advanced, 92 advanced and 38 remained unchanged on the CSE.

The port city bourse traded 14.81 million shares and mutual fund units with turnover value of Tk 275 million.

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