Dhaka stocks witnessed marginal gains for the second consecutive day on Tuesday amid fluctuations in share prices, as a section of investors decided to purchase low-priced shares after the recent market correction, market operators said.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, rose by 11.89 points, or 0.22 per cent, to close at 5,247.52 points on the day after gaining 1.96 points in the previous trading session.
Due to an increase in investors鈥� activity, the total turnover on the bourse rose to Tk 593.03 crore on Tuesday against Tk 391.54 crore on Monday.
Market operators said that the stock market experienced an upward trend during the first half of the trading session on Tuesday.
However, as the session progressed, the market exhibited significant volatility, marked by sharp increases and decreases, ultimately finishing with a slight gain, they said.
They attributed this instability to mounting economic worries, particularly a continued decline in the country鈥檚 foreign exchange reserves, which had dampened investor sentiment.
Additionally, data from the Bangladesh Bank revealed that foreign investment in the country's capital market had plummeted by 50 per cent over the past two years.
Over the past 15 weeks, the market had advanced in just three of those weeks.
Furthermore, investors are adopting a cautious approach and closely monitoring the market trend before the announcement of the national budget and the celebration of Eid-ul-Azha, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims.
Of the 397 issues traded on the day, 181 advanced, 147 declined and 69 remained unchanged.
The DSE Shariah index increased by 4.42 points, or 0.38 per cent, to close at 1,142.74 points on Tuesday.
The DS30 index witnessed a decrease, by 4.43 points or 0.23 per cent, to finish at 1,852.56 points.
On the sectoral front, pharmaceutical issues exerted the highest turnover, followed by life insurance and engineering shares.
EBL Securities in its daily commentary said, 鈥楾he prolonged volatility across the trading floor induced investors to remain watchful of the market鈥檚 trend due to concerns surrounding the national budget declaration.鈥�
Meghna Petroleum topped the turnover chart on the day with its shares worth Tk 25.88 crore changing hands.
Standard Bank, Central Pharmaceuticals, Rupali Life Insurance, Unilever Consumer Care, Fortune Shoes, eGeneration, Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries, Asiatic Laboratories and Orion Infusion were the other turnover leaders.
