Dhaka stocks went up yesterday as investors continued pouring in their funds, putting their bet on hopes that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 would not be as threatening as many had previously thought.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), rose 10 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 6,892. This is fourth consecutive rise of the index through which it gained 161 points in total.
Investors were reluctant to park their funds over the past month mainly for three reasons, one of which was the spread of Omicron in European countries, said a top official of a stock brokerage firm.
If the spread of Omicron had a devastating effect, it could damage Bangladesh’s economy and the stock market too, he said.
The other two reasons are discords between the Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on some issues and institutional investors opting to make lower investments in stocks in December, he added.
The BSEC ordered all listed companies, including banks and non-bank financial institutions, a few months back to deposit their undistributed dividend to the stock market stabilisation fund.
It also allowed the banks and NBFIs to declare dividend from the current year’s profits even in cases where there were cumulative losses.
But the central bank told them not to abide by the BSEC order, which ultimately had an impact on stock investors.
At the DSE, 167 stocks advanced, 180 fell and 31 remained the same.
Meghna Life Insurance Company topped the gainers’ list, rising 10 per cent, followed by Fareast Islami Life Insurance Company, Rupali Life Insurance, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, and Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream.
ICB AMCL Third NRB Mutual Fund shed the most, dropping 5.40 per cent, followed by Shepherd Industries, Sonargaon Textiles, Hamid Fabrics and Hwa Well Textiles.
Beximco stocks were traded the most, worth Tk 106 crore, followed by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Fortune Shoes, Active Fine Chemicals, and Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream.
Turnover, an important indicator of the market, fell 10 per cent to Tk 1,182 crore.
Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), however, dropped. The CASPI, the main index of the port city bourse edged down 3 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 20,154.
Among 292 stocks to undergo trade, 130 rose, 128 fell and 34 remained unchanged.
The premier bourse of Dhaka ended up in the green in line with the last two consecutive sessions in the New Year, as optimistic investors showed interest in sector-wise share purchase, said International Leasing Securities in its daily market review.
The benchmark index fell down during the first hours of trade and then recovered gradually as the session progressed.
The investors’ enthusiasm towards life insurance, cement and IT sectors helped the index remain in the green, it said.
However, the market faced some profit booking moves by some risk-averse investors, especially in the travel, miscellaneous and food and allied sectors, it added.
Among the sectors, life insurance went up 3.5 per cent, cement 2.3 per cent and IT 1.1 per cent whereas travel fell 2 per cent, miscellaneous 1.1 per cent and food & allied 0.6 per cent.
