Trading at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) will remain closed for the second consecutive day on Monday.
The decision came at a meeting of the stakeholders with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair to find ways to help stocks bounce back from the current slump and take steps to reform the markets.
The participants of the meeting also agreed to withdraw the ‘circuit breaker’ that the regulators imposed on the stock trading earlier on Wednesday to put brakes on a big rise or fall, meeting sources said.
The minister is scheduled to hold a press briefing at the finance ministry at 5:00pm to reveal the government’s measures to save the market.
Officials of Securities and Exchange Commission, Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges, two former SEC chairmen and representatives of brokerage houses attended the meeting at state guesthouse Padma in the morning.
The country’s apex trade body — Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) – placed a set of recommendations to the finance minister at the meeting.
The latest fall at the stock market on Thursday prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission to keep trading shut on Sunday and suspend trading activities of six stockbrokers, their managing directors and chief executive officers for 30 days.
The regulators on the previous day introduced a share index breaker, which put brakes on a big rise or fall.
As per the circuit breaker, trading stops automatically for the day if the DSE General Index (DGEN) goes up or down by 225 or more points.
But the Dhaka stock index had nosedived 600 points on Thursday before the circuit breaker put a stop to trading on the two bourses.
Apart from introducing index circuit breaker, the finance minister earlier asked the SEC to carry out an investigation to identify the sellers who led the market towards instability.
The SEC was also asked to suggest long and mid-term policies instead of short-term measures to maintain stability in the market.
Meanwhile, many investors sought the prime minister’s intervention for restoring ease in the market, which was witnessing a continuous downtrend since second week of this month.
Market experts put the declining trend down to the liquidity crunch in the secondary market. But the situation has worsened for lack of confidence among investors.
The retail investors got panicked seeing no positive impacts of the regulator’s measures on the market.
