After two weeks of sluggish trading, the turnover at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) crossed Tk 500 crore on Wednesday, marking a rebound from the recent downtrend that saw daily transactions dip to the Tk 300-400 crore range.

The DSE’s key index, DSEX, edged up by 8 points, while the Shariah-based index rose by 3 points and the blue-chip DS30 index gained 9 points, reflecting modest improvement in investor sentiment.

The turnover at the DSE stood at Tk 503 crore, the highest in 14 days. The last time turnover exceeded Tk 500 crore was on October 14, when it reached Tk 606 crore.

Most issues traded higher, with prices rising for 175 companies, falling for 153, and remaining unchanged for 66.

Among the three categories, the shares of most companies under the A and B categories — known for paying higher and moderate dividends — gained in price, while Z-category stocks, which pay no dividends, mostly declined.

In the Z-category, 46 companies saw price fall, 29 advanced, and 23 remained unchanged.

In the block market, shares of 26 companies worth Tk 23 crore were traded, led by Marico Bangladesh Limited with Tk 8.8 crore in turnover.

Deshbandhu Polymer Limited topped the gainers’ list with a 10 percent price rise, while Stylecraft Limited was the worst loser, shedding over 13 percent.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also witnessed an uptrend, with its broad index gaining 23 points.

At the port city bourse, prices rose for 94 issues, fell for 81 and remained unchanged for 19.

The trurnover at the CSE, however, dropped to Tk 18 crore from Tk 35 crore in the previous session.

Rahima Food Corporation Limited gained nearly 10 percent to top the CSE chart, while Baraka Power Limited declined over 13 percent to end at the bottom.