Stocks bounce back after 3-day fall

Bangladesh's stock market bounced back yesterday after losing a total of 61 points over the last three days as investors started to buy stocks, thinking that the profit booking session had ended.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), rose 45 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 6,869.

On the same day, the DS-30, the blue-chip stock index, rose 10 points to 2,453.

"As the deposit rate in the banking sector is low, people now prefer investing their funds in the stock market," said a merchant banker preferring anonymity.

Besides, the market recently became vibrant after a long time, attracting more general investors in the process.

"However, they should remain cautious when investing since many stocks are quite overvalued and none but the investors themselves will suffer for wrong decisions," he said. Turnover, an important indicator of the market, rose 21 per cent to Tk 2,249 crore yesterday at the DSE, where 225 stocks advanced, 119 fell and 32 remained unchanged.

"The stock market index has been in a rising trend for the last few months, when many stocks rose 10 to 20 per cent, so a profit booking session was expected," a stock broker said.

Now, since many investors think the index may rise further, they started to buy again, he added.

Following corrections over the past few days, the market opened with the active presence of bargain hunters and this upbeat trend continued until the end of yesterday's session, International Leasing Securities said in its daily market review.

Optimistic investors took positions in the cement, insurance, textile, food, and engineering sectors, which added 45 points to the DSEX for the session.

However, other investors liquidated their holdings on mutual funds, services, and the fuel and power sector to reshuffle their portfolios, the review said.

The general insurance and textile sectors dominated the turnover board, accounting for 27.3 per cent of the day's total turnover, while the top 10 traded stocks contributed 25.2 per cent of the total trade, it added.

Maksons Spinning Mills topped the gainers' list, rising 10 per cent, followed by Mithun Knitting, Islami Insurance, Tamijuddin Textile Mills, and Bangladesh National Insurance.

Grameen One: Scheme Two shed the most, losing 14.29 per cent, followed by NLI First Mutual Fund, Reliance One Mutual Fund, National Tea Company, and EBL NRB Mutual Fund.

Stocks of Beximco Limited traded the most, worth Tk 116 crore, followed by LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, British American Tobacco, Maksons Spinning, and Beximco Pharmaceuticals.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also rose yesterday as the CASPI, the general index of the port city bourse, edged up 153 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 19,997.

Among the traded 327 stocks, 202 rose, 100 fell and 25 remained unchanged.