DSE turnover crosses Tk500cr, highest since 13 Dec

[Bilal9]

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DSEX finally closed at 6209.52, which was 0.07% up from the previous close​

Infographic: TBS

Infographic: TBS

With more investors onboard for buying and selling, turnover at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) crossed the Tk500 crore mark on Wednesday for the first time since 13 December last year.

In contrast to the year-end standstill picture of more than three-fourths of the stocks stuck on the floor prices or the bottom circuit, the secondary market scenario is gradually changing, with more stocks entering spontaneous trading with bidders while the price of some stocks is moving.

In continuation of the previous session's bullish closing, DSEX, the broad-based index of the premier bourse, jumpstarted the Wednesday session with a number of mid-cap stocks in upward momentum.

But, in the middle of the session, sellers came up to book some of their recent gains, and that pushed the indices downward.

"Cautious investors perceived every bounce back as an opportunity to liquidate their positions amid the prolonged bearish sentiment in the market," EBL Securities analysts wrote in their daily market commentary.

However, investors' buying behaviour in selective issues propped up the indices and helped them stay afloat through seesaw moves by the end of the session, they added.

DSEX finally closed at 6209.52, which was 0.07% up from the previous close.

Stockbrokers said investors' appetite for stocks has been increasing over the week, especially after the regulatory stance of keeping the floor prices on the remaining 232 scrips until the secondary market's health improves.

Also, the bottoming out of several dozen of the 168 scrips, which got rid of the floor last month and are being allowed to fall by 1% a day is helping regain trading confidence in the market.

Earlier last week, more than 330 of the 400 DSE scrips had no bidder, which came down to less than 300 now.

Investors' caution was still there, as the 2023 economic outlook is yet to be clearly bullish, according to stockbrokers.

Pharmaceuticals, information technology, and life insurance stocks contributed 21.7%, 12.6%, and 10.7%, respectively, to DSE turnover on Wednesday.

Most of the sectors displayed mixed returns.

The travel and leisure sector led the gainers with a 4.3% increase in market capitalization, followed by the life insurance and paper sectors that gained 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively.

On the other hand, the jute, general insurance, and ceramic sectors faced 1%, 0.4%, and 0.3% corrections, respectively.
Forty scrips advanced in the DSE while 127 declined.

Indices in the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also inched up at the end of the session, while turnover in the port city bourse remained flat at Tk13.3 crore.