"Everybody is waiting for the budget in absence of other economic factors to stimulate the market," a market analyst told the news agency.

Requesting anonymity, the analyst said the market would continue to remain flat until the next budget to be placed in parliament on June 9.

He speculated that otherwise incentives would be announced in the budget for capital market development as the finance and planning minister ruled out requests from market players for allowing whitening the black money for some extended period.

"People are not reacting to the market," DSE Chief Executive Officer Salahuddin Ahmed Khan said, explaining that the market liquidity was maintaining status quo for lack of factors affecting the market movement.

He said there was hardly any price sensitive information, other than Beximco that declared dividend on Thursday, after the adjustment of ex-dividend prices. Corporate attractions have also come to a halt for this year causing the index curb to move flat for the last week.

Shares at the DSE were traded with very marginal ups and down last week - less than 10 points - in the all share price index (DSI).

The CEO said the stock exchanges have requested the government for some incentives, mainly to widen the corporate tax gap between the listed and non-listed companies, so that the listed companies could offer more dividends to the shareholders.

Imposition of some tax on the earnings from government bonds would also help push investors to the capital market, he added.

On allowing undeclared money into the capital market, he said a "misperception" has been generated in the market with the disapproval of the request for allowing black money, but it is now removed. There will have some incentives in the budget.