DSE daily turnover scales over Tk 9b-mark on buying spree

Stocks rallied on Tuesday with turnover scaling Tk 9 billion-mark as investors were in a buying spree with the hope that the macroeconomic pressure would ease in the coming days.

Investors went for buying oversold stocks, influenced by the news that Bangladesh would soon receive IMF loan. The latest monetary policy and the regulator's assurance to keep the 'floor price' in place also helped them gain confidence, market operators said.

Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 9 billion on the country's premier bourse, after a 26 per cent surge from the previous day.

It happens to be the biggest single-day transaction since November 9 last year when the turnover hit a record of Tk 10.18 billion.

Along with the high turnover, DSEX, the benchmark index of the DSE, also rose 35.68 points to settle at 6,281, more than two months' high, after losing 4.43 points the day before.

The growth in turnover and index -- the two most important indicators of the market -- suggests that investors are getting back their confidence in the market, said Mostaque Ahmed Sadeque, managing director of Investment Promotion Services.

The development also indicates increased activities of institutional investors in the market, he said.

The central bank made a forecast while announcing the monetary policy that the liquidity scenario would improve in the money market, leading to a boost to liquidity in the capital market, said EBL Securities.

Optimistic investors continued to inject fresh funds across the Dhaka bourse, said the stockbroker.

"The upward rally persisted throughout the session as buy dominance prevailed across the market since opportunist investors turned back to the market to harness some quick profits from the rallying issues".

The investor participation remained concentrated on particular sectors and selective stocks that are expected to be somewhat immune to earnings volatility caused by macroeconomic adversities, said the stockbroker.

Price surge of Beximco Pharma, LafargeHolcim, Orion Pharma, Beacon Pharma and Acme Laboratories helped the market go higher as these stocks jointly accounted for half of the day's index gain.

According to International Leasing Securities, investors gained back their confidence after the news that the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission chairman met the prime minister on Sunday.

"The regulator continuously encourages investors to increase fund flow to the market," said the stockbroker.

The pharmaceuticals sector dominated the turnover list, capturing 17 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by IT (14 per cent) and engineering (10 per cent).

Most of the large-cap sectors posted gains with pharmaceuticals booking the highest gain of 0.85 per cent, closely followed by food & allied, engineering, banking, and power.

The gainers took a strong lead over the losers as out of 373 issues traded, 119 closed higher, 68 lower and 186 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation became the most-traded stock with shares worth Tk 596 million changing hands, closely followed by Genex Infosys, Orion Pharma, Bashundhara Paper Mills, and Sea Pearl Beach Resort.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended higher with the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) gaining 89 points to settle at 18,530 and its Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rising 54 points to close at 11,105.

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