Stockbrokers yesterday requested the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) to refrain from opening half an hour ahead of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) for trading, reasoning that it may lead to massive fluctuations once the two synced.

The number of stocks traded at the CSE is just 5 percent of that at the DSE on any given day, they said.

Therefore, opening early will just lead to a low number of shares changing hands and limited participation from brokers, they added.

However, this will have an impact on companies listed on both exchanges, adversely affecting market management and investor confidence, the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA) stated in a press release.

The CSE had recently sent a letter to brokerage houses, informing them that it would open for trading at 9:30 am instead of 10:00 am from January 26.

It is "unprecedented" and "unthinkable" for multiple stock exchanges in a country to have separate trading schedules in the same time zone, said the DBA.

"The same securities are traded on both the DSE and CSE. As trading starts simultaneously at the same time every day, investors check both exchanges and buy and sell shares according to their needs at competitive rates," it added.

On this ground, the DBA requested the CSE and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) to refrain from bringing about the change.

M Shaifur Rahman Mazumdar, managing director of the CSE, told The Daily Star that they were seeking to give some extra time for trading to attract brokers to the CSE.

As several brokerage houses have dual memberships in the DSE and CSE, and they have a lack of focus on the CSE, it may attract their attention, he said.

"As we cannot offer any new product due to regulatory limitations, we are trying out different options within our limits. I don't see any problem with separate opening hours," he added.