Stocks ended higher for the two straight sessions on Thursday, with the key index of the major bourse crossing the 5,400-mark again, as bargain hunters were active on sector-wise lucrative issues.

The market witnessed volatility in the first half of the session, but the latter half went up steadily as optimistic investors showed their appetite on sector-specific issues which saw price erosion in the past few days.

DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 30.74 points or 0.57 per cent to settle at 5,416. DSEX added about 97 points in the two consecutive sessions.

Two other indices also edged higher. The DSE 30 Index comprising blue chips advanced 9.42 points to finish at 2,065 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) rose 5.18 points to close at 1,225.