Bangladesh
10 months ago

Stocks flat after two hours ahead of national budget

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The stock market witnessed volatility after two hours of trading on Tuesday as investors followed a mostly cautious stance just ahead of unveiling the national budget.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal is all set to unveil the national budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 on Thursday.

Following the previous day’s modest correction, the market opened higher and the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), rose 14 points within the first 15 minutes of trading.

But failed to keep the momentum as investors turned cautious and opted for booking profits on quick-gaining stocks and the key index went up 0.72 point to reach 6333 after two hours of trading at 12:00 noon.

Turnover, an important market indicator, stood at Tk 4.36 billion within the first two hours of trading.

Market operators said some cautious investors preferred profit-booking on stocks that saw a recent upsurge following the news of soaring non-performing loans in the banking sector.

The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, dropped 0.03 points to reach 2,198 while the Shariah Index (DSES) gained 1.50 points to stand at 1,371 points till then.

Of the issues traded till then, 89 advanced, 90 declined and 177 remained unchanged.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw a positive trend with its All Share Price Index (CASPI) rising 6 points to 18,687 and the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) gaining 4 points to 11,178 after the first two hours of trading.

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