The country’s two stock exchanges logged operating losses in the last fiscal year thanks to sluggish trading activities, according to official data, compelling the markets to resort to their fixed deposit income to avoid a net loss.

Daily turnover of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) soared to a 16-month high of Tk 1,654 crore yesterday thanks to the increased participation of some major individual investors.

The stock market regulator in Bangladesh has stepped up its efforts to forestall the freefall of shares despite criticism from institutional investors and analysts as uncertainty is deepening owing to the raging Ukraine war, persistently higher inflation and fresh coronavirus flareups.