Weekly review: DSE average turnover climbs 20pc

Stocks posted a modest gain in the outgoing week that ended Thursday, snapping a two-week losing streak, as opportunist investors showed their appetite on financial issues.

Week-on-week, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, went up by 24.77 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at 4,731, after losing 65 points in the past two straight week.

Market analysts said investors showed their buying spree on cement, financial institutions issues and bank issues, as their shares became lucrative following the recent sharp correction.

The cement sector posted the highest gain of 9.58 per cent riding on sector heavyweight LafargeHolcim, followed by non-bank financial institutions with 4.42 per cent and banking sector gained 0.37 per cent.

However, Grameenphone (GP), which is the largest listed company by capital, fell 3.43 per cent, following the Supreme Court ordered GP to pay Tk 20 billion in three months to the telecom regulator from the audit claim of Tk 125.79 billion.

The apex court said if the GP fails to pay the amount within the stipulated time then the High Court injunction against the realisation of Tk 125.79 billion by BTRC would be vacated.

The outgoing week saw five trading days as usual. Of them, first session ended lower while last four sessions closed higher.

The DSE Shariah Index also saw a fractional gain of 0.39 point to close at Tk 1,082. However, the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, suffered 2.92 points loss to finish at 1,647.

The weekly total turnover on the prime bourse stood at Tk 23.76 billion, up from Tk 19.81 billion in the week before.

The daily turnover averaged out at Tk 4.75 billion, up 20 per cent from the previous week's average of Tk 3.96 billion.

Block trade contributed 1.50 per cent to the total weekly turnover, where stocks like Mercantile Insurance, BRAC Bank, Khulna Power and Power Grid Company dominated the block trade board.

EBL Securities said investors were busy with rebalancing their portfolio based on the first quarter earnings results and dividend record date.

The port city's bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also ended higher, with its CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI - gaining 120 points to settle at 14,392 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX - rising 68 points to finish the week at 8,743.

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