Dhaka stocks gained on Wednesday, but the turnover hit its lowest in nearly 16 months, as the trading on the Dhaka Stock Exchange resumed on the day after the Eid-ul-Azha holidays.
Due to low investors鈥� participation, the turnover on the DSE was Tk聽246.44 crore on Wednesday.
Before Wednesday, the previous lowest total turnover on the Dhaka bourse was Tk聽231.41 crore on February 26, 2023.
In the previous trading session, June 13, the total turnover on the DSE was Tk聽423.14 crore.
Trading on the Dhaka bourse remained closed from June 14 to 15 on weekly holidays and from June 16 to 18 on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims.
DSEX, the key index of the DSE, increased by 43.57 points, or 0.85 per cent, to close at 5,161.38 points on Sunday after gaining 34.61 points in the previous trading session on June 13.
Md Sajedul Islam, managing director of Shyamol Equity Management Ltd, said that the turnover was low as most of the investors were still in the holiday mood.
鈥楢s for the key index, the number of sellers decreased, as prices of most of the shares have come down at the point that they cannot go any lower due to the recent market corrections. It may take some times, but the capital market will start to improve,鈥� he said.
In the past 17 weeks, the DSE moved forward in only three weeks.
Market operators said that the latest subdued market sentiment was due to investors being unhappy with the new budget measures related to the capital market.
The finance minister has proposed a capital gains tax on individual investors if their profits exceed Tk 50 lakh.
Many investors also pulled their money out of the market ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, market operators said.
They also mentioned that the current negative mood on the market was also due to growing economic concerns, especially the ongoing decline in the country鈥檚 foreign exchange reserves.
Of the 392 issues traded on Wednesday, 232 advanced, 96 declined and 64 remained unchanged.
The DSE Shariah index increased by 13.25 points, or 1.19 per cent, to close at 1,121.31 points on the day.
The DS30 index gained 22.24 points, or 1.22 per cent, to finish at 1,844.13 points.
On the sectoral front, pharmaceutical issues exerted the highest turnover, followed by the general insurance and textile shares.
EBL Securities in its daily commentary said, 鈥楾he indices stayed upbeat throughout the session, with opportunistic investors taking positions on sector specific issues, driven by positive expectations. However, cautious investors remained observant in the absence of any major catalysts to counter the prevailing pessimism pervading the trading floor.鈥�
Crystal Insurance topped the turnover chart on the day with its shares worth Tk聽11.61 crore changing hands.
Pragati Life Insurance, Fortune Shoes, Asiatic Laboratories, Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream, Beacon Pharmaceuticals, Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries, Unique Hotel & Resorts, Capitec Grameen Bank Growth Fund and Alif Industries were the other turnover leaders.
