Stocks rise for 6th day

Dhaka stocks extended their rally for the sixth consecutive session on Monday as vaccine news continued to lift hope of an exit from the pandemic.

The benchmark DSEX index climbed over 29 points or 0.57% to settle at 5,053, pulled up mainly by financial and pharmaceutical stocks.

On the other hand, the DSES index gained over 8 points or 0.76% to 1,159 and the blue chip DS30 index rose 14 points or 0.83% to 1,763.

The market might react to the positive news flow around coronavirus vaccination, with countries now initiating their mass vaccination phase, according to brokers.

However, the majority of stocks closed in red as out of 325 issues traded, 141 declined, 126 advanced and 87 remained unchanged.

The turnover increased by 0.51% to Tk843 crore. The general insurance sector accounted for 16% and the banking sector accounted for 13% of the total turnover.

Beximco Ltd — the flagship company of Beximco Group — continued to lead the turnover list with shares worth Tk50 crore changing hands. It was followed by Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Republic Insurance, IFIC Bank, Fortune Shoes, Square Pharmaceuticals, BRAC Bank, UPGDCL and Associated Oxygen Limited.

The vaccine news has been pouring in amid a spike of coronavirus at a rapid rate, which could result in partial lockdowns and months of social distancing and other precautionary behavior.

“But the vaccine will help the outlook. I think people are going to stop having anxiety. We’ll see the beginning of the end soon. That’s a big deal,” said a top broker.

The top gainer's list was led by Miracle Industries was full of a variety of companies from food, insurance, cement and mutual funds. CAPM BDBL Mutual Fund suffered most, making it the top loser of the day.