The Bangladesh capital market witnessed a bullish trend last week, with the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) climbing by 2.46%. Despite the upward momentum in prices, investor participation showed signs of caution as the average daily turnover experienced a significant sharp decline.
Index Performance and Market Breath
The DSEX, the broad index of the DSE, gained 134.34 points over the week to settle at 5,600 points, up from 5,466 points the previous week. Other indices followed suit:
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DS-30 Index: Rose by 71.58 points (3.41%) to close at 2,169.
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DSE Shariah Index (DSES): Increased by 21.09 points to end at 1,116.
Market breadth remained positive as out of the 389 issues traded on the DSE:
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274 companies saw their share prices rise.
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83 companies closed lower.
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32 remained unchanged, while 24 saw no trades.
The week’s rally was largely spearheaded by heavyweight stocks, including BRAC Bank, City Bank, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Eastern Bank, and Robi Axiata.
Shift in Trading Volume and Sectoral Dominance
While the indices surged, the market’s liquidity slowed down. The average daily turnover stood at 724.86 crore BDT, a 30.97% drop compared to the previous week’s average of 1,050.04 crore BDT.
The Banking sector emerged as the most dominant force, accounting for 22.66% of the total weekly turnover. Other top-performing sectors included:
| Sector | Share of Turnover (%) |
| Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals | 13.18% |
| Food & Allied | 10.40% |
| Textile | 9.24% |
| Engineering | 7.16% |
In terms of returns, Financial Institutions led the gainers with a 5.15% positive return, followed by IT (4.56%) and Banking (4.24%). Conversely, the Corporate Bond sector faced the steepest decline, dropping by 1.69%.
Drivers of Market Sentiment
Market analysts attribute the early-week volatility to uncertainties surrounding U.S. tariff issues. However, initial caution was quickly overtaken by a surge in buying pressure within the banking sector.
A primary catalyst for this renewed investor confidence was the Central Bank’s recent relaxation of loan rescheduling policies. This move is perceived as a stabilizer for the financial sector’s health, encouraging investors to increase their stakes in major banking scrips.
Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Update
The port city’s bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange, also mirrored the positive sentiment. The CASPI (All Share Price Index) rose by 1.62% to reach 15,597 points, while the CSCX index gained 1.66% to end the week at 9,587.
