Following trading suspension on Tuesday, trading on Wednesday started half an hour behind schedule.
The benchmark index of the country's premier bourse experienced a precipitous fall at opening.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) general index plummeted 151.25 points, or 3.10 percent, to stand at 4713.04 points at 12:06pm.
Shares worth Tk 843.85 million changed hands until then, with losers heavily outnumbering gainers 213 to 11. Seven issues remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, retail investors are demonstrating in front of the DSE from 11am demanding suspension of trading in the capital market until it stabilises.
They are chanting slogans demanding resignation of the prime minister and the Bangladesh Bank governor.
Traffic on the street in front of the DSE has been halted for the demonstration.
'CONFUSION AND SUSPENSION'
After a day's of suspension, trading at the DSE resumed half an hour behind schedule on Wednesday.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman M Khairul Hossain on Wednesday told reporters that business would resume at 11:30am.
Fear of a negative impact on the capital market brought about by the 'confusion' over investment in the stocks by public servants forced authorities to suspend trading in the twin bourses on Tuesday.
The DSE board had said the decision to stop Tuesday's trading was taken in the 'interest of the investors' after two weeks of a bearish trend. The board sat for an emergency meeting at 10am and the decision to suspend trading came immediately afterwards.
Trading on Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) was also suspended around five minutes after the start on Tuesday.
After the meeting, Mosharraf Hossain, chief executive officer of the DSE, said on Tuesday the suspension order was issued as the confusion over investment could impact the market negatively.
He said the order was intended to avoid any further confusion.
"A bewilderment was noticed in news reports on investment in capital market by government officials (civil and military). DSE authorities think this might create confusion among the investors and impact the capital market negatively," Mosharraf Hossain said on Tuesday.
"So, trading has been halted in the interest of the share market and the investors," he added.
The cabinet on Monday cleared a proposal to amend the income tax law to reduce income tax on investments. Abul Kalam Azad, the press secretary to prime minister Sheikh Hasina, later said, "We know the capital market is risky. It is inappropriate for those in government service to engage in such business."
The comments created confusion as to whether the government was trying to prevent state officials from investing.
Later Azad told that he had made and 'off the record' remark about the government officials and employees investing in the market and that there was a misunderstanding among journalists on the matter.
The law in force stipulates that public servants cannot be involved with any other profitable ventures, but they have been investing in the capital market thanks to legal loopholes.
The benchmark index of the country's premier bourse experienced a precipitous fall at opening.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) general index plummeted 151.25 points, or 3.10 percent, to stand at 4713.04 points at 12:06pm.
Shares worth Tk 843.85 million changed hands until then, with losers heavily outnumbering gainers 213 to 11. Seven issues remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, retail investors are demonstrating in front of the DSE from 11am demanding suspension of trading in the capital market until it stabilises.
They are chanting slogans demanding resignation of the prime minister and the Bangladesh Bank governor.
Traffic on the street in front of the DSE has been halted for the demonstration.
'CONFUSION AND SUSPENSION'
After a day's of suspension, trading at the DSE resumed half an hour behind schedule on Wednesday.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman M Khairul Hossain on Wednesday told reporters that business would resume at 11:30am.
Fear of a negative impact on the capital market brought about by the 'confusion' over investment in the stocks by public servants forced authorities to suspend trading in the twin bourses on Tuesday.
The DSE board had said the decision to stop Tuesday's trading was taken in the 'interest of the investors' after two weeks of a bearish trend. The board sat for an emergency meeting at 10am and the decision to suspend trading came immediately afterwards.
Trading on Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) was also suspended around five minutes after the start on Tuesday.
After the meeting, Mosharraf Hossain, chief executive officer of the DSE, said on Tuesday the suspension order was issued as the confusion over investment could impact the market negatively.
He said the order was intended to avoid any further confusion.
"A bewilderment was noticed in news reports on investment in capital market by government officials (civil and military). DSE authorities think this might create confusion among the investors and impact the capital market negatively," Mosharraf Hossain said on Tuesday.
"So, trading has been halted in the interest of the share market and the investors," he added.
The cabinet on Monday cleared a proposal to amend the income tax law to reduce income tax on investments. Abul Kalam Azad, the press secretary to prime minister Sheikh Hasina, later said, "We know the capital market is risky. It is inappropriate for those in government service to engage in such business."
The comments created confusion as to whether the government was trying to prevent state officials from investing.
Later Azad told that he had made and 'off the record' remark about the government officials and employees investing in the market and that there was a misunderstanding among journalists on the matter.
The law in force stipulates that public servants cannot be involved with any other profitable ventures, but they have been investing in the capital market thanks to legal loopholes.
0 comments:
Post a Comment