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Stocks extended the rally on Thursday, with the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSEX) exceeding the 5,200-mark, as buoyant investors made fresh bets on lucrative blue-chip shares in anticipation of quick gains.
Many fundamentally-strong shares became cheap after sharp corrections in recent times, increasing investors' appetite for those, market insiders said.
The market has somewhat recovered from its intense post-budget bearish spell as optimistic investors rushed to capitalize on oversold stocks.
The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) rose more than 82 points or 1.60 per cent to settle at 5,244, the highest in nine sessions.
The DSEX regained 169 points in the past four trading days, which the market had lost in post-budget three sessions in a row.
Substantial price hikes of large-cap stocks, including multinational companies, helped the market to stay afloat.
Renata, Linde Bangladesh, Square Pharma, Kohinoor Chemicals, BAT Bangladesh, Orion Infusion, Beximco Pharma, and City Bank jointly accounted for half of Thursday's index rise.
Renata jumped 7.50 per cent, helping more than 12 points' rise of the index, following the news that the drug maker exported its first shipment of Terbinafine tablets to the UK.
Linde Bangladesh's stock escalated an astounding 43 per cent, supporting almost 12 points' rise of the index, after the disclosure of its record interim dividends for January-October last year.
Other multinational companies such as Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, Bata Shoe and Marico also saw price appreciation.
Moreover, rumors that the government would retreat from the proposed capital gain tax encouraged a section of investors to inject money in stocks.
According to EBL Securities, stocks extended the winning streak aided by the price appreciation of large-cap stocks as bargain hunters maintained their control across the trading floor and collected blue-chip companies' shares deemed to be trading at lucrative price levels.
The DS30 index, a group of 30 prominent companies, gained more than 31 points to 1,875, while the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, jumped 25 points to 1,146.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, climbed 84 per cent to Tk 4.53 billion on Thursday, from a 16-month low at Tk 2.46 billion the day before.
Food, pharma and textile sectors constituted 46 per cent of the day's total turnover.
A majority of the stocks saw price surge, as out of the 393 issues traded, 288 closed higher, 55 lower and 50 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Asiatic Laboratories became the most-traded stocks, with shares worth Tk 146 million changing hands, closely followed by Linde Bangladesh, Sea Pearl Beach Hatchery, and Rupali Life Insurance.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended sharply higher with its All Share Price Index (CASPI) soaring 178 points to 14,786 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rising 113 points to 8,899.