Stocks extend 3-day winning streak

The Dhaka bourse continued its winning streak for a third straight session on Thursday (31 October), fueled by increased investor participation on the buying side.

The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), DSEX, rebounded strongly, adding 300 points over the last three trading sessions, recovering from a 216-point drop experienced on Sunday and Monday.

On Thursday, the DSEX increased by 34 points to settle at 5,199 points, and turnover jumped by 23% to Tk566 crore as investor participation in the market increased. 

The blue-chip DS30 index gained 10.19 points to reach 1,926, while the DSE Shariah Index added 8.68 points to settle at 1,114. Of the traded stocks, 212 saw price gains, 151 declined, and 34 remained unchanged.

EBL Securities, in its daily market commentary, said the benchmark index of the capital bourse retraced from its bearish headwinds as investors started showing buying appetite based on the latest earnings and dividend declarations amid regulatory efforts to revive investors' market sentiment. 

The market began this week with a pessimistic note by amplifying the prevailing bearish market sentiment, dragging down the benchmark index below the psychological threshold of 5000 points.

"However, the latest earnings and dividend declarations of the listed companies exceeded expectations of the investors, which, coupled with discussions of providing liquidity support through ICB and withdrawing the capital gain tax rate, stimulated investors' confidence to pull up the benchmark index to settle in the positive territory," the commentary reads. 

Investors were mostly active in the banking sector on Thursday , as the sector led with a 19.2% contribution to turnover, followed by pharmaceuticals at 16.6% and textiles at 10.8%. 

The day's top gainer was Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, whose share price jumped by 19% to Tk80.7 each on Thursday. The corporation's stocks also saw the highest trading activity, with Tk27.91 crore in value traded, followed by IBN Sina (Tk24.37 crore) and ACME Laboratories (Tk18.96 crore). 

Basically, the price of any stock may jump a maximum of 10% in a single day but the shipping corporation's shares jumped by 19% owing to its annual corporate declaration. 

The state-owned firm recommended a 25% cash dividend for the 2023-24 fiscal year, achieving a record profit of Tk250 crore, the highest in its 52-year history.

Other top gainers included ICB AMCL First Agrani Bank Mutual Fund, with a 10% rise to Tk6.60, and Genex Infosys, increasing by 9.96% to Tk27.6. 

On the losing side, Pragati Life Insurance fell by 5.81% to Tk139.4, Northern Jute Manufacturing by 5.59% to Tk123.2, and Premier Leasing by 5.12% to Tk3.7.