The benchmark index of the country’s premier bourse edged higher today (19 December) driven by strong performances from Beacon Pharma, Eastern Bank and Orion Infusion despite declines in over 50% of the stocks.
On the day, the DSEX increased by 13 points, reaching 5,221 points, while the blue-chip index DS30 gained by 8 points to close at 1,938.
Of the traded stocks, 119 advanced, while 201 declined, and 77 remained unchanged, according to the bourse.
Meanwhile, market turnover again decreased by 17% to Tk335 crore compared to the previous session.
According to the EBL Securities, Beacon Pharma made the largest contribution to the index’s rise, adding 4 points, followed by Eastern Bank with 2.9 points and Orion Infusion.
On the other hand, several major stocks pulled the index down, with Islami Bank leading the decline by 2.1 points. BRAC Bank followed with a loss of 1.7 points, while Renata reduced the index by 0.7 points.
In its daily market commentary, EBL Securities noted that the benchmark index of the Dhaka bourse managed to stay afloat in green territory in the final session of the week with certain large-cap scrips witnessing mild recovery, although overall investor sentiment remains subdued considering the current volatile state of the market.
Market volatility persisted for the majority of today’s session as investors remained active on both sides of the trading board, while late-session buying activity led the market to end on the positive territory, according to EBL Securities.
On the sectoral front, pharma stocks accounted for the highest turnover at 25.3%, followed by textile at 10.3% and banks at 8.5%.
Square Pharma was the top traded stocks in terms of value, with Tk21.80 crore, followed by Acme Laboratories at Tk18.24 crore and Orion Infusion at Tk16.94 crore.
Most of the sectors displayed mixed returns, out of which telecom, ceramic and non-bank financial institutions exerted the most gains while IT, paper and services exerted most corrections on the bourse.
Index Agro led the gainers’ list with an 8.09% increase, reaching Tk69.4 per share, followed by Orion Infusion with a 6.19% gain and Associated Oxygen with a 5.91% rise.
Meanwhile, Beach Hatchery was the worst performer on the day as its share price dropped by 4.14% to close at Tk87.8, followed by Tallu Spinning and CAPM BDBL Mutual Fund.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange, the port city bourse, also ended the day on a positive note. The benchmark indices, CSCX and the all-share price index CASPI, gained 21 and 33 points, closing at 8,843 and 14,522, respectively.
