Stocks skyrocketing continues for sixth day

Stocks bull run continued for the sixth consecutive day and reached a new high with a record market capitalisation on Tuesday.  

Experts said, in the booming market, most junk shares saw the highest price hike among the traded scrips on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), which is risky for investors. 

But the share prices of the blue-chip and multinational companies did not rose abnormally.

"A few days ago, I went to a brokerage firm. There I saw most of the general investors buying shares of weak companies. Without knowing anything, they are buying shares of these companies which are not in production," Abu Ahmed, an honorary professor at the Dhaka University, told The Business Standard. 

"The main reason behind this is that the prices of these shares have increased mostly through manipulation. So they are running there in the hope of making more profit. Now, if the market collapses like in 2010, the investors of these companies will suffer the most."

He said the regulator had conducted financial literacy activities to prevent investors from getting engaged in such practices. 

"But in reality, there is no reflection of that training. Otherwise, the role of fundamental companies would have been more in the case of stock booming," added Professor Abu Ahmed.

He added that some groups are engaged in targeted manipulation. 

"Currently, the manipulation has increased a lot. So, investors should be careful," he added.

On Tuesday, the benchmark index DSEX of the DSE jumped 0.92% to reach 7,140 points riding on price hikes of multinational and blue-chip companies. The blue-chip index DS30 rose 1.46% to 2,583 points at the end of the trading session. 

The port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange's (CSE) key index CASPI jumped 134 points to reach 20,797.

Shares of 374 companies were traded on the DSE and 177 of which advanced, 167 declined and 30 remained unchanged.

Besides, the turnover of the DSE slightly fell to Tk2,866 crore compared to the previous trading session.

EBL Securities said in its daily market review, the market capitalisation of the Dhaka bourse has stood at the historically highest level of Tk5.80 lakh crore. 

But, as the central bank has strengthened the monitoring of banks' investments in stocks following the recent bull run, it may send panic among investors causing a clutch in the dominant rally. 

British American Tobacco, the large-cap stock observed a stellar performance that helped Tuesday's market ascend further, the review added.

On the sectoral front, the engineering sector contributed 14.23% in the total turnover of the DSE, followed by fuel and power 12.53% and textile 12.50%.

Beximco Ltd and British American Tobacco were the most traded shares in the turnover chart at the country's premier bourse.