Market rally continues as banking, insurance stocks gain

The stock market bulls are displaying their eagerness to let the rally continue and push major indices even higher.

Mainly banking and insurance stocks drove the rally on Tuesday, as investors seemed to have been curious about the banks' improved half-yearly earnings at the current price level of the stocks, while insurance stocks – both from life and non-life sectors – have corrected to some extent from their recent peaks.

DSEX, the broad-based index at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), gained 38.2 points or 0.57% to close at 6,787; a newer high for the most-tracked index that was launched in 2013, while its predecessor DGEN went up to near 9,000-mark in the bull market of 2010.

Unlike most common instances, where the market has to absorb some additional supplies as soon as new milestones in volume or turnover are achieved, Dhaka bourse's market capitalisation on Tuesday continued growing from the record high of Tk5.49 lakh crore.

On Monday, DSE registered over a billion of shares and other securities units to be traded for the first time in a single session.

EBL Securities wrote in their daily market commentary on Tuesday that the recent extension of the index-tagged ceiling to provide margin loans up to maximum allowable limit helped strengthened stock investors' confidence after some shakes due to the central bank moves to mop up excess liquidity from the money market, setting a floor for deposit rates, and also to better monitor inappropriate fund diversion into speculative stock investment.

Alongside banking and insurance stocks, telecommunication, ceramic and engineering companies enjoyed an improving market capitalisation over the session.

On the other hand, miscellaneous, service, tannery, textile, travel-leisure, and cement stocks suffered collective price correction.

But the total turnover at the DSE declined by 9.5% to Tk2,673 crore on Tuesday.

Banks made nearly one-fifth of the day's total turnover, followed by textile and non-bank financial institutions.

Out of the 374 issues traded on the DSE, 192 advanced, 174 declined, and 8 remained unchanged.

Indices at the Chittagong Stock Exchange also closed higher, while daily turnover at the port-city bourse reduced to Tk109 crore, from Tk116 crore on Monday.