Bank, pharma lift Dhaka stocks for third day

Equities at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended higher today, extending their winning streak to a third straight session, lifted by gains in banking and pharmaceutical shares, while turnover also picked up.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the bourse, increased 22.48 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 5,415.13, according to DSE data.

Other indices followed the performance of the main index as both the Shariah-based DSES and the blue-chip DS30 ended the day higher.

Turnover, a key indicator of investor activity, stood at Tk 708.94 crore, up from Tk 576 crore in the previous session, reflecting higher investor participation.

The market closed in the green, while the large-cap sectors posted mixed performances, said BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Ltd in its daily market update.

Block trades, high-volume transactions involving large numbers of securities, contributed 3.8 percent of the overall market turnover.

Market breadth was positive, with 175 issues advancing against 157 declining, while 66 remained unchanged.

Among the major sectors, bank shares experienced the highest gain of 0.63 percent, followed by pharmaceuticals at 0.59 percent and food and allied at 0.2 percent.

Sectors that dropped included fuel and power at 0.23 percent, engineering at 0.43 percent, non-bank financial institutions at 0.54 percent, and telecommunications at 0.57 percent.

Summit Alliance Port Limited was the most-traded share with a turnover of Tk 35.8 crore, BRAC EPL said.

On the day's performance table, Prime Finance & Investment surged 10 percent to top the gainers' list, while CVO Petrochemical Refinery dropped 5.22 percent, becoming the worst performer of the session.