Dhaka stocks opened marginally higher on Thursday while the Chittagong Stock Exchange saw a downturn in the early hour of trading.
Market operators said most investors remained followed a cautious stance as the energy crisis keeps deepening and power cuts have become frequent across the country over the last few days.
The confidence of investors is yet to restore fully due to macroeconomic worries and rising Covid-19 cases in recent days, they said.
Today is the last trading day before Eid holidays as the market will remain closed from Friday to Monday, including weekly holidays, on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha.
Following the previous day’s modest fall, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 8.70 points or 0.13 per cent to stand at 6,374, after the first hour of trading at 11:00 am.
Two other DSE indices also saw a positive trend till then. The DS30 index, which consists of the blue-chip companies, gained 0.62 points to 2,300 while the DSES Index, which represents Shariah-based companies, listed on the bourse, up by 0.89 points to 1,390.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 1.40 billion after one hour of trading at 11:00 am.
Of the issues traded till then, 174 advanced, 118 declined, and 70 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco was the most traded stock till the filing of this report with shares worth Tk 126 million changing hands, closely followed by Union Bank, GP, Fu-Wang Food and Intraco Refueling Station.
However, the Chittagong Stock Exchange opened lower with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—losing 31 points to stand at 18,718 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX fell 18 points to reach 11,219, also at 11:00 am.
Of the issues traded till then, 65 declined, 48 advanced and 28 remained unchanged with a turnover of Tk 106 million till then.