Stocks witnessed a mixed trend on Tuesday, after the Eid holidays, as investors were mostly cautious amid growing macroeconomic worries.
After the first hour of trading, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 4.83 points or 0.07 per cent to stand at 6,371 at 11:00 am.
The bourses remained closed for four days from July 8 to July 11, including weekly holidays, on the occasion of the Eid-ul-Adha, the second largest religious festival of the Muslims.
As usual, trading on the bourses started at 10:00 am and will continue until 2:30 pm.
Investors' participation was very thin on the trading floor as most of the investors are yet to return to Dhaka after celebrating Eid festival in their village homes.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 1.22 billion after one hour of trading at 11:00 am.
Two other DSE indices saw fraction gains till then. The DS30 index, which consists of the blue-chip companies, gained 0.32 points to 2,294 while the DSES Index, which represents Shariah-based companies, listed on the bourse, up by 0.31 points to 1,388.
Market insiders said the investors mostly followed a cautious stance amid the ongoing bearish sentiment as the energy crisis is deepening and power cuts have become frequent across the country over the last few days.
“Power outage is hampering trade, business and economy through squeezing industrial production,” said a merchant banker, seeking anonymity.
Load-shedding returned after several years as Bangladesh felt the first stirrings of the global energy crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
The government is also mulling directives to reduce the use of electricity against the backdrop of galloping fuel prices in the global market that has put the country’s power generation capacity to a test.
Of the issues traded till then, 155 advanced, 129 declined, and 71 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Beximco was the most traded stock till the filing of this report with shares worth Tk 100 million changing hands, closely followed by Intraco Refueling Station, Titas Gas, Fu-Wang Food and Shinepukur Ceramics.
However, Chittagong Stock Exchange opened lower with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—losing 29 points to stand at 18,722 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX – fell 14 points to reach 11,223, also at 11:00 am.
Of the issues traded till then, 69 declined, 40 advanced and 27 remained unchanged with a turnover of Tk 76 million.
