Dhaka stocks witnessed a sharp spike in its indices, marking its third week of gains, as optimistic investors were active on buying side, helping the market to recover slightly after a recent drop.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, increased by 142.15 points, or 2.65 per cent, in the past week to end at 5,497.56 points, after gaining 111.28 points in the previous week.
The DSE operated on four sessions in the past week, among which it declined in one session and the other three saw gains.
The Dhaka bourse remained closed on July 1 on the occasion of bank holiday.
The total turnover on the DSE decreased by 9.89 per cent in the past week to reach Tk 2,463.30 crore compared with that of Tk 2,802.13 in the previous week.
Over the past 20 weeks, the market has risen only six times, including the past three weeks and has fallen in the other 14.
Market operators said that the rise happened mainly because many share prices had hit their lowest point due to a recent market correction. Buyers saw this as an opportunity to make profits from the low-priced shares and inject fresh funds into the market.
Prior to the past three weeks, the market witnessed a prolonged bearish vibe as investors were concerned with the new budget measures related to the capital market and increasing economic concerns, including continuous decline in the country鈥檚 foreign exchange reserves.
On June 6, finance minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali presented the proposed budget for the 2024-25 financial year at the Jatiya Sangsad in Dhaka. In the budget, the minister suggested a capital gain tax on individual investors if their profits go over Tk 50 lakh.
Market experts said that investor confidence fell because the Bangladesh Bank raised repo rates, which could lead to higher interest rates. This might make investors move their money to banks instead.
Meanwhile, the devaluation of the taka against the US dollar made the market situation worse.
Of the 393 stocks traded last week, 329 went up, 40 went down and 24 stayed the same.
Investors were mostly active in pharmaceutical scrips, followed by food and textile shares.
EBL Securities in its weekly market commentary said, 鈥楤uyers remained on the dominant side as opportunistic investors sought to take positions in particular scrips, which they deemed lucrative at the prevailing price levels.鈥�
The DSE Shariah index increased by 25.18 points, or 2.13 per cent, to close at 1,951.34 points in the past week.
The DS30 index gained 28.77 points, or 1.50 per cent, to finish at 1,208.70 points.
Jamuna Oil topped the average weekly turnover chart with shares worth Tk聽29.95 crore daily changing hands.
Meghna Petroleum, Beach Hatchery, Orion Pharma, Alif Industries, Pragati Life Insurance, Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa, Unilever Consumer Care, Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream and Salvo Chemical Industry were the other turnover leaders.
