Written by The Banking Post
Stocks opened higher on Monday as trading resumed after the week-long Eid-ul-Azha holidays, with investors continuing to take positions in stocks seen as attractively priced.
Optimism surrounding the upcoming national budget announcement on June 11 also supported buying interest, although concerns over a recent regulatory directive imposing stricter cash dividend requirements for banks kept some investors cautious about banking stocks.
After the first hour of trading, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) rose more than 38 points, or 0.71 percent, to 5,373 at 11:00am.
The DS30 index, comprising blue-chip stocks, gained 10 points to 2,041, while the DSES index, which tracks Shariah-based companies, advanced 6 points to 1,088.
Turnover stood at Tk 2.65 billion by then. Among traded issues, 233 advanced, 76 declined and 75 remained unchanged. NCC Bank emerged as the most traded stock, with shares worth Tk 275 million changing hands.
The market remained closed from May 25 to May 31, including weekly holidays, for Eid-ul-Azha celebrations.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also posted gains, with its benchmark CASPI index rising 13 points to 14,922, while the CSCX index added 12 points to 9,182.
