Bangladesh shifts stock trading hours in line with energy-saving measure

From Wednesday, trading will start at the country’s two stock exchanges at 9:30 am and close at 1:50 pm

Stock market trading hours have been changed in line with the working hours of banks and government offices as Bangladesh faces an energy crunch.

From Wednesday, the country’s two stock exchanges will start trading at 9:30 am and end at 1:50 pm and the post-closing session will continue until 2 pm, said Md Rezaul Karim, a spokesman for the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

The stock market previously began trading at 10 am and closed trading at 2:30 pm.

The duration of the post-closing session has been cut from 15 minutes to 10 minutes.

According to the government’s orders, banks will be open to conduct transactions from 9 am to 3 pm, starting Wednesday. BSEC has shifted the stock market’s trading hours accordingly.

On Monday, Bangladesh announced that it was cutting working hours at government offices, autonomous institutions and banks starting Wednesday.

Government offices and autonomous institutions will be open from 8 am to 3 pm instead of the usual 9 am to 5 pm.

Schools and other educational institutions will also have a two-day break to conserve energy.

Bangladesh is facing an energy crunch amid volatility in the global market due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the depreciation of the taka against the dollar.