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The Dhaka bourse on Monday closed with a moderate rise, extending its gaining streak for the second consecutive session as investors found many securities at lucrative levels following the recent falls.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) opened the day's session on a positive note, but the broad index - DSEX - remained volatile for about an hour.
Later, the DSEX exhibited a steady upward trend that continued past the mid-session, and the benchmark index eventually closed with a moderate gain of 0.90 per cent, or 42.80 points, to settle at 4,774.
After losing 420 points between October 30 and November 13, the DSE had closed marginally higher on Sunday and continued the momentum on Monday.
The appreciation of a majority of blue-chip stocks mainly helped the broad index finish higher.
Of the 30 blue-chip stocks, 23 advanced, three declined, and the remaining four were unchanged.
The companies that saw appreciation included British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, and Grameenphone.
As a result, the blue-chip index - DS30 - advanced 0.50 per cent, or 9.37 points, to close at 1,869.
Of the 373 issues traded, 322 advanced, 35 declined, and 16 remained unchanged. The premier bourse posted a turnover of Tk 3.48 billion, up 16.73 per cent from the previous session.
Of the total turnover, Tk 269 million came from transactions on the DSE's block board.
Market leaders, however, performed mixed on Monday, with some appearing among the top index pullers while others featured among the top index draggers.
Beximco Pharma was the top index puller, adding 3 points to the broad index.
On the other hand, Square Pharmaceuticals was the number one index dragger, as its share price declined 4.65 per cent.
The major sectors that played a market-supportive role included banking, life insurance, life and general insurance, and services & real estate.
Of the 37 listed mutual funds, 34 closed in the green and the remaining three were unchanged.
Selim Afzal Shawon, head of research at BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage, said the market recently experienced deep corrections that created trading opportunities.
The large-cap companies with significant influence on the index also saw price appreciation and helped the DSE close higher.
"But, it's difficult to say the market is free from its abnormal behaviour," he said.
On its website, the DSE on Monday again disseminated information regarding the closure of operations of four non-performing companies.
Nevertheless, those companies saw price appreciation of between 6.25 per cent and 9.46 per cent. They are Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills, Nurani Dyeing, Aramit Cement, and Pacific Denims.
Asked, Md. Ashequr Rahman, managing director of Midway Securities, said the effectiveness of the revised margin rules had created concern in the market as many lenders initiated adjustments through forced selling. The rules have been challenged in the upper court.
"I think the matter will be settled very soon and investors might have increased participation Monday keeping this in view," Rahman said.
In a market review, EBL Securities noted that investor sentiment was also somewhat influenced by market-wide rumours over a favorable outcome in the ongoing legal proceedings regarding the court's ruling on the newly enacted margin rules.
Square Pharmaceuticals topped Monday's turnover chart with Tk 149 million, followed by Anwar Galvanizing, Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries, and Runner Automobiles.
GPH Ispat was the top gainer with a rise of 9.86 per cent, while Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries was the top loser, shedding 10 per cent.
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