Dhaka stocks witnessed gain for the second consecutive session on Thursday, as a section of optimistic investors bought low-priced scrips, market operators said.
DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, increased by 53.46 points, or 1.01 per cent, to close at 5,333.93 points on the day, after gaining 10.94 points in the previous session.
The DSE lost a total of 144.12 points in the first three sessions of the week.
Market operators said that the country鈥檚 economy was already struggling and the recent unrests over the student protests regarding the reformation of quota system in government jobs had made investors more nervous.
The circuit breaker, which limits how much the market can move, is also discouraging for investors, they said.
On Thursday, the key index began the session with a drop and continued to fall until midday. Then, it started to slowly rise and ended the session in the green zone.
The total turnover of the Dhaka bourse also increased on the day, to Tk聽552.75 crore, compared with that of Tk聽470.58 crore in the previous session.
Of the 398 issues traded on Thursday, 278 advanced, 60 declined and 60 remained unchanged.
The DSE Shariah index increased by 11.40 points, or 0.98 per cent, to close at 1,165.37 points on the day.
The DS30 index gained 14.66 points, or 0.77 per cent, to finish at 1,900.85 points.
On the sectoral front, pharmaceutical issues exerted the highest turnover, followed by the food and textile shares.
EBL Securities in its daily commentary said, 鈥楾he indices remained flat for most of Thursday鈥檚 session as investors engaged actively on both sides of the trading fence. However, a late-session buying spree added strength to the market, leading to price appreciation for most of the scrips.鈥�
Techno Drugs topped the turnover chart on the day with its shares worth Tk聽52.38 crore changing hands.
Agni Systems, Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa, Heidelberg Materials Bangladesh, Alif Industries, Unilever Consumer Care, Orion Infusion, Square Pharmaceuticals, Uttara Bank and NRB Bank were the other turnover leaders.
