Today, Trade halted automatically in DSE
Today, DSE general index stood at 6326.34483pt which is -587.04502 -8.4914207% lower than that of the previous day.
Regulators yesterday(Wednesday) introduced a share index breaker. According to the circuit breaker, trading stops automatically for the day if the DSE General Index (DGEN) goes up or down by 225 or more points.
The index circuit breaker, which put brakes on a big rise or fall, was introduced following an emergency meeting among finance minister, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials and central bank high ups.
Yesterday the meeting deferred trading on Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges by two hours to start at 1:00pm.
As for yesterday, the trading was stopped after the DGEN lost 226 points around 2:30pm. The declining trend for the last five days had the market lose 757 points.
The investors, who were scared noticing no positive assurance from the government, demanded the market remain shut until the prime minister takes up the issue and comes up with a precise solution to restore normalcy in the market.
VIOLENCE
As transaction stopped around 2:30, investors streamed out nearly simultaneously of the brokerage houses and merchant banks in Motijheel area.
They vandalised hundreds of cars, set fire to furniture of makeshift shops blocking the road from Ittefaq intersection to Dainik Bangla intersection. Confronted, the agitated investors engaged into a violent battle with police.
The investors also gathered at the Securities and Exchange Commission in Jibon Bima tower and chanted slogans demanding resignation of the finance minister, central bank governor, SEC chairman and DSE president.
Police reached the scene in an hour and charged batons to disperse the investors. Police and the demonstrators threw brickbats on each other during the time. Chases and counter chases took place.
Vehicular movement on the road gained normalcy after one and a half hours’ turmoil, around 4:00pm.
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.
GOVERNMENT STEPS
Apart from introducing index circuit breaker, the finance minister 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.
SEC officials said they will execute primary investigation on the basis of surveillance report, and form a probe committee if anomalies were found. The officials also said they will investigate the information regarding transaction of the current month.