Indices extend gains for fourth session

The stock indices continued an upward trend for the fourth straight day of the outgoing week.

On Thursday, the last trading session of the week, stock indices kept its upward trend led by the bank sector.

DSEX — the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) — surged by 31 points and settled at 7,092 points.

However, the investors' participation in the bourse decreased. The total turnover declined by 3.05% to Tk1,461 crore compared to Tk1,507 crore in the previous session.

The banking sector contributed 30.51%, miscellaneous sector 11.44%, and pharmaceuticals 8.53% to the DSE turnover on Thusday.

Travel (2.6%), Food (2.2%), and Bank (2.2%) sectors fetched the most positive returns, while the general insurance sector (-1.9%), textile (-0.7%), and tannery (-0.5%) observed the biggest corrections at the bourse on Thusday.

Out of the 341 issues traded on Thusday, 152 advanced, 159 declined, and 30 remained unchanged.

The EBL Securities said in its daily market commentary, "Investors showed interest in the bank sector stocks in expectation of higher year-end earnings as they deemed the price level of bank stocks to be at a lucrative level.

"However, the market observed volatility in the mid-session as investors were active on both sides of the trading fence. Many investors were booking profit on quick-gaining stocks while bargain hunters were showing their buying interest in sector-specific stocks," reads in the commentary.

The port city bourse – Chattogram Stock Exchange (CSE) – also settled in green as its benchmark index Caspi rose by 81 points to reach 20,723 points.