Block trades, banking sector push DSE turnover past TK 8.5b after nearly 11 months

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has recorded its highest daily turnover in almost 11 months, with trading volume crossing Tk 8.5 billion.

The rise in activity, however, was accompanied by a broader decline in share prices across most listed companies, as per a bdnews24.com report.

On Monday, total transactions on the DSE reached Tk 8.61 billion, up from Tk 7.76 billion in the previous session.

It was the first time since Sept 2 last year that turnover breached the Tk 8 billion mark, when trading had stood at Tk 10.65 billion. Since then, the DSE trading had consistently remained below the Tk 8 billion level, and for much of that period, hovered around the Tk 6 billion range.

Between April and late June this year, the market slumped even further, with turnover frequently falling below Tk 4 billion.

Trading began Monday on a positive note, as buying pressure pushed the benchmark DSEX index to a peak of 5,272 points by 12:30pm. The momentum, however, tapered off later in the day, and the index closed at 5,219 points, registering a gain of 25 points from the previous day’s close of 5,194.

Of the day’s total turnover, Tk 133.5 million came from block trades. Leading the block market once again was BRAC Bank, with Tk 28.5 million worth of shares changing hands at prices ranging between Tk 62.20 and Tk 63.80 per share.

The private bank has consistently been one of the most actively traded stocks in recent weeks. In the previous week, it topped the DSE turnover leaderboard, averaging daily transactions worth Tk 206.2 million, about 3.0 per cent of the bourse’s daily average turnover.

Despite the strong trading volume on Monday, market breadth was negative. Out of 396 companies that participated in trading, 224 saw their share prices fall, while 117 gained. Another 55 stocks remained unchanged.

Sector-wise, pharmaceuticals and chemicals led the turnover chart with Tk 1.375 billion in trades, followed closely by the banking sector, which logged Tk 1.371 billion in transactions. The engineering sector came in third, contributing Tk 839 million to the day’s total turnover.

At the end of the session, the top three gainers based on closing prices were GQ Ballpen Industries, Eastern Insurance, and Pharma Aids Limited, while Express Insurance, SEML Lecture Equity Management Fund, and Tallu Spinning Mills, all of which saw significant drops in their share prices at close.