Stocks open higher on vaccine hopes


FE ONLINE REPORT | Published: January 04, 2021 11:32:45 | Updated: January 09, 2021 10:50:15


Stocks open higher on vaccine hopes

Stocks opened on an upbeat note on Monday as investors continued their appetite riding on news of India’s coronavirus vaccine approval which heightened hopes for Bangladesh.

Following the previous day’s biggest-single day spike in 12 months, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) opened higher amid rising trading activities.

Within the first 30 minutes of trading, the DSEX rose more than 54 points while the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) of port city’s bourse gained 49 points at 10:30 am.

However, it slowed down to some extent after 45 minutes of trading as cautious investors opted for booking some profit on quick-gaining stocks.

After the first hour of trading, DSEX rose more than 38 points while the CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) of port city’s bourse gained 99 points at 11:00 am when the report was filed.

DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 38.97 points or 0.69 per cent to stand 5,657 points.

Market analysts said the investors kept their buying spree on major sector stocks riding on the news of the approval of Covid-19 vaccines in India, series of market supportive measures taken by the regulator coupled with falling interest rates on banks deposit.

They said as India has approved two coronavirus vaccines, it creates hopes for Bangladesh as the government made a deal with an Indian company to purchase the vaccine.

The World Health Organisation also welcomed India’s approval of two Covid-19 vaccines, saying it would help “strengthen” its fight against the pandemic in South East Asia.

On November 5, 2020, Bangladesh government signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India’s Serum Institute and Beximco Pharmaceuticals to purchase 30 million doses of the vaccine.

Two other indices also saw an upward trend till then. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 10.62 points to reach at 2,089 points and the Shariah Index (DSES) rose 8.23 points to stand 1,307 points.

Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 8.54 billion within the first hour of trading when the report was filed at 11:00 am.

Of the issues traded till then, `208 advanced, 88 declined and 54 remained unchanged.

Beximco was the most traded stock till then with 21.39 million shares worth Tk 1.33 billion changing hands, followed by Beximco Pharma, LafargeHolcim, LankaBangla Finance, and IFIC Bank.

The port city bourse – the Chittagong Stock Exchange – (CSE) also opened higher with CSE All Share Price Index- CASPI-gaining 99 points to stand at 16,365, also at 11:00 am.

Of the issues traded till then, 100 gained, 54 declined, and 27 issues remained unchanged with Tk 253 million in turnover.

babulfexpress@gmai.com

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