Stocks see modest rise for third day

Stocks finished modestly higher for the three consecutive sessions on Wednesday as investors booked marginal profit in the later part of the trading session.

Market insiders said some investors continued to keep close eye on earnings declaration by listed companies, while some booked profit on stocks that saw significant rise in the past few days, closing the market slightly higher.

Stocks see modest rise for third day
"The market finished slightly higher with persistent volatility as investors have shown profit taking tendency at the end of the day`s trading session," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm.

After hitting one year high, the key index of the premier bourse advanced 14 points within first 20 minutes of trading, but failed to maintain the momentum as risk-averse investors booked some profit.

DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), finished one year high at 4,714.05, advancing 5.26 points or 0.11 per cent.

EBL Securities, a stockbroker, said, "Like previous day, the market opened with buoyancy, but late hours` selling frenzy helped the bourse finish in flat green zone with key index of the premier bourse staying above 4,700-mark".

The stockbroker noted that conservative GDP forecast by World Bank at 6.80 per cent might have triggered the investors to remain vigilant in the day`s session.

The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) also saw a fractional gain of 0.70 point or 0.06 per cent to close at 1130.07 points. However, the DS30 comprising blue chips fell 1.07 points or 0.06 per cent to settle at 1,783.85 points.

The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also finished slightly higher with its Selective Categories Index- CSCX - advancing 12.67 points to settle at 8,822.33.

Gainers beat losers as 126 issues closed higher, 86 ended lower and 38 remained unchanged on the CSE.

The port city bourse traded 11.35 million shares and mutual fund units` worth over Tk 384 million in turnover.