FE Report

Dhaka stocks extended their gaining streak for the fifth session in a row Monday, led by banks and pharmaceutical companies.

The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), DSE General Index (DGEN), advanced by 22.09 points or 0.74 per cent to finish at 2,996.82 after touching the psychological water mark of 3,000 for the first time in more than a month.

The broader DSE All Shares Price Index (DSI) closed at 2,511.88 with a gain of 18.53 points or 0.74 per cent. The DSE-20 blue chip index rose 26.93 points or 1.21 per cent to end at 2,239.66.

The market was skewed towards the gainers as out of 239 issues traded, 132 went into the green zone, 105 were in the red and three remained unchanged.

"The market temperament looks good as far as the last few days are concerned as it is heading towards suitability," said Saiful Islam, DSE senior vice president.

The turnover, however, declined to Tk 6.75 billion, down by 8.7 per cent from the previous session's Tk 7.39 billion.

"Several fundamentally strong sectors gained with high turnover and speculative investors were still dominating," said the Equity Partners Limited (EPL) in its daily market analysis.

Non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), mutual funds, information technology, energy and life insurance companies lost on profit taking while general insurance companies and life insurance companies gained.

Bextex, the sister concern of the leading industrial conglomerate Beximco Group, was the top turnover leader for the sixth straight session with shares worth Tk 402.17 million traded, accounting for nearly six per cent of the total turnover.

Beximco Ltd, the flagship company of the industrial conglomerate, emerged second with shares worth Tk 286.75 million changing hands, followed by Beximco Pharma with Tk 228.25 million, Summit Alliance Port Ltd Tk 172.72 million and AIMS First Mutual Fund Tk 168.76 million.

Hakkani Pulp and Paper posted the biggest gain of 17.08 per cent, followed by Samorita Hospital with 13.74 per cent, Delta Spinners 12.87 per cent and Aramit 10.45 per cent.

Dandy Dyeing, the day's top loser, fell 16.70 per cent after the company reported its net loss of Tk 20.32 million against Tk 4.74 million as of December last year.