All major indices in Bangladesh dropped today after an error caused by the withdrawal of the circuit-breaker for all stocks delayed the starting of trading for the day.
In a press release, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) said the trading was delayed by one and a half hours as the bourse lifted the circuit-breaker for all stocks instead of 70 companies that declared their earnings a day earlier.
Currently, firms listed on the exchanges in Bangladesh are allowed to go up by a maximum of 10 per cent and go down by a maximum of 2 per cent in a single day. But a day after a corporate disclosure is made, no price cap is applied.
The interruption prompted the DSE to extend the trading duration by 15 minutes. So, the market closed at 2:30pm today, instead of 2:15pm usually.
Owing to the disruption, the DSEX, the benchmark index of the DSE, lost 43 points, or 0.68 per cent, to close at 6,334.
The DS30, the blue-chip index, fell 0.90 per cent to 2,245 while the DSES, the shariah-based index, was down 0.90 per cent at 1,389.
Of the securities, 44 advanced, 91 declined and 231 remained the same. Turnover plunged 24 per cent to Tk 826 crore.
Navana Pharmaceuticals topped the gainers’ list, advancing 78 per cent. Chartered Life Insurance, Eastern Cables, Hakkani Pulp, and Bangladesh National Insurance surged more than 8 per cent.
Agricultural Marketing Company (Pran) suffered the highest fall, dropping 11 per cent. BDCOM Online, Rangpur Foundry, Indo-Bangla Pharmaceuticals, and JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing were also among the major losers.
Navana Pharmaceuticals was the most-traded stock, with its shares worth Tk 65 crore transacted. Beximco Ltd, Anwar Galvanizing, Orion Pharma, and Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa also witnessed significant turnover.
The Caspi, the all-share price index of the Chattogram Stock Exchange, dropped 86 points, or 0.46 per cent, to end at 18,692.
Of the issues that traded on the port city bourse, only 46 advanced, 62 declined, and 121 did not show any price movement.