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Stocks opened with a mixed trend as investors were largely reluctant to make fresh investments in the absence of any strong positive catalyst to revive investor confidence.
The market has been passing through a bearish sentiment for a long while the latest increase of value added tax (VAT) on certain goods triggered further caution over the market’s momentum.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Thursday hiked value-added tax (VAT) and supplementary duty (SD) on nearly 100 goods and services despite widespread concern that the increased taxes will stoke inflation further.
Following the previous day’s rise, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went down by 0.76 points or 0.01 per cent to 5,193 at 11:00 am, when the report was filed.
The DS30 index, a group of 30 prominent companies, lost 3 points to 1,921. However, the DSES index, which represents Shariah-based companies, rose 4 points to 1,166.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, was also low and amounted to Tk 1.01 billion till then.
Of the issues traded till then, 142 advanced, 146 declined, and 84 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor till then.
Orion Infusion was the most traded stock with shares worth Tk 69 million changing hands.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange, however, saw a positive trend till then with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)—gaining 25 points to 14,484 while the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rose almost 16 points to 8,813.