Stocks salvaged by insurance
The insurance sector topped the gainers’ list of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday as investors rushed to the companies, preventing the key index from falling.
Nine insurance companies were in the top 10 list of the gainers. They are National Life Insurance, Prime Islami Life Insurance, Sunlife Insurance, Federal Insurance, Bangladesh National Insurance, Pragati Life Insurance, Prime Insurance, Sandhani Life Insurance, and Popular Life Insurance, DSE data showed.
“The index was rescued from a fall thanks to the insurance sector,” said a top official of a leading merchant bank.
The insurance sector alone led the index. For instance, National Life Insurance was the top contributor to the index.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of the DSE, gained 2.73 points, or 0.05 percent, to end the day at 5,253.32. Turnover surged 2.95 percent to Tk 328.91 crore.
The day’s highest turnover also came from the insurers, with the sector’s contribution accounting for 19.7 percent. Market insiders say a few big players have bought shares of some insurance companies, fuelling their price and leading general investors to rush to them.
Most of the insurance companies have also become lucrative as their prices fell during the ongoing market slump, analysts said.
Of the 47 listed insurance companies, 35 advanced, nine dropped and two remained unchanged, according to DSE data.
However, most of the listed companies dropped on the day.
Losers beat gainers as 183 issues declined, 121 advanced and 42 finished unchanged on the DSE.
British American Tobacco Bangladesh dominated the turnover chart with 1.13 lakh shares worth Tk 14.46 crore changing hands, followed by Eastern Cables, Fortune Shoes, National Life Insurance, and Doreen Power.
Chattogram stocks declined with the bourse’s key index, CSCX, shedding 27.05 points, or 0.27 percent, to finish at 9,681.90.
Losers beat gainers as 144 issues declined, 92 advanced and 21 finished unchanged on the Chittagong Stock Exchange. The port city bourse traded 76.26 lakh shares and mutual fund units worth Tk 17.06 crore.