Markets up on dialogue hopes, Q3 profits

Buoyed by possibilities of a dialogue between Bangladesh’s battling coalitions, the index in both Dhaka and Chittagong Stock exchange moved upwards on Sunday.

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Sunday is the first trading day of the week.

The rise ended a month of lukewarm trading, marked by dampened investor sentiment.

The markets briefly rose after the Eid last week but ended down on Thursday, the last trading day.

Despite a 60-hour nationwide strike by the 18-party BNP-led Opposition, the DSEX rose by 110 points.

The CSCX also moved up sharply, rising 235 points over the last trading day.

The DSEX ended the day at 3,909 points.

The CSCX finished at 7677 points.

Hopes of a dialogue to break the country’s ongoing political impasse is believed to have introduced an element of optimism amongst investors.

 

Booming third quarter profits by top companies like GP and some banks also swayed investor sentiment upwards.Turnover at Dhaka stocks rose by Tk 200 million from the previous trading day, finishing at Tk 2.5 billion.

Of the traded scrips, 247 rose, 34 declined and seven remained unchanged.

Market analysts ascribed the sharp rise in trading volumes to hopes of an end to the political turmoil.

“Buying increased as people hoped for an early end to the political crisis, which may further buoy the markets,” A Quadir Chowdhury, managing director of Phoenix Securities told bdnews24.com.

The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition spoke over telephone on Saturday in an apparent effort to break the ice.

Bank stocks appeared to be prime movers — all but one of the 30 scrips in this sector ended higher after the day’s trading.

“Rising third quarter profits of some banks had a positive impact on the day’s trading,” Md Muniruzzaman, IDLC Investments’ managing director told bdnews24.com.

Several textile scrips like Generation Next Fashions, Envoy Textiles, Argon Denims and Malek Spinning also traded well and rose.

GP and four banks – Prime Bank, National Bank, City Bank, Al-Arafah Islami Bank – were the main market movers of the day.

Source: bdnews24