Investors at Dhaka Stock Exchange went for heavy buying of banking and non-banking financial issues pulling the benchmark general index of the bourse by 114.92 points on Thursday.
The total traded turnover on DSE also rose by Tk 700.33 crore on the closing day of the week as investors, buoyed by the market regulators’ latest decision on stockbrokers’ deposit, injected fresh funds into the market.
The benchmark general index of DSE crossed 8,800-point mark for the first time-ever on the day, gaining 114.92 points, or 1.32 per cent, to close at 8,838.09 points. The index had gained 120.74 points on Wednesday.
The day’s turnover on the bourse was Tk 3,179.69 crore compared to that of Tk 2,479.36 crore on the previous day.
More than two-thirds of the bank issues and nearly 80 per cent issues of the non-bank financial sector saw a significant price hike. Fourteen of the top-20 shares on the turnover board belonged to the banking sector and three to the non-bank financial sector.
Insurance companies also pulled the market up on the day as the investors speculated that most of the insurance companies would increase their paid-up capital, said a stockbroker.
Investors went for bulk purchase of bank shares as most of the listed banks had made good corporate declarations in the recent past, he added.
Akter H Sannamat, managing director of financial institution Prime Finance and Investment, said investors’ buying pressure of high-profile securitises rallied the market.
Investors were also motivated to buy shares as the Security and Exchange Commission on Wednesday deferred the date of bringing its directive on bourse members’ deposits into effect to January 2, he added.
Salahuddin Ahmed Khan, who teaches finance at Dhaka University, said bulk purchase of high-profile securities as risk-free investment was a very ‘positive indicator’ for the capital market.
Investors also anticipated that the market regulatory body would not issue any more stringent directive to control the market, he added.
A rumour that most of the companies are going to come up with positive corporate declarations also inspired investors to go for bulk buying of shares, said a stockbroker. But, it is not a positive sign for the share market, he added.
Out of the 230 issues traded on the day, 120 advanced, 107 declined, and three remained unchanged.
AB Bank topped the turnover leaders with 10.30 lakh shares valued at Tk 160.58 core and the scrip went up by more than 11 per cent on the day.
The rest of the turnover leaders were Southeast Bank, United Commercial Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Brac Bank, Beximco, Uttara Bank, Peoples Leasing and Financial Services, Pubali Bank, and NBL.
Standard Insurance was the day’s biggest gainer posting a 14.09 per cent rise in its share price while Stylecraft was the worst loser.
