Stocks inch up with higher turnover

The market started on positive note in the morning and the momentum continued till close of the session. The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index, DSEX, gained 14 points to 0.3% to settle at 4,836, which is 14 months high. The blue chip DS30 index edged 1 point up to 1,784 and the DSE Shariah Index DSES rose only 2 points to 1,151. The Chittagong Stock Exchange selective category index, CSCX, rose over 24 points to 9,056. The volume of trade continued to increase significantly as the DSE turnover stood at Tk807 crore, up more than 18% over the previous session. This was primarily driven by engineering sector that accounted for over 20% of the total trade value. Among the best performing sectors, engineering sector gained the highest about 1%, followed by telecommunications 0.7%, power 0.5%, pharmaceuticals 0.3% and banks 0.2%. On the other hand, food & allied remained flat while non-banking financial institutions had the largest fall of 0.7%.