Most junk stocks which experienced abnormal price hikes in different quarters of 2023 retreated on the prime bourse on Wednesday.
These stocks saw their price fell between 1.62 per cent and 8.75 per cent and some of them made their way to the top 10 losers' chart of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries, which had registered a 692 per cent price appreciation as of Tuesday, witnessed its share price decline 3.31 per cent on the DSE.
In 2023, the junk stocks including Shyampur Sugar Mills, Imam Button Industries, Aziz Pipes, and Central Pharmaceuticals experienced price hikes between 27 per cent and 130 per cent in 2023.
Zeal Bangla Sugar Mills, another junk stock, exhibited price hikes until November this year.
The companies which were on the chart of top 10 losers on Wednesday included Shyampur Sugar Mills, Zeal Bangla Sugar Mills and Libra Infusion.
Of these companies, Libra Infusion experienced a 73 per cent price hike as of Sunday although the company has been incurring losses since 2020.
The company had a record date on Tuesday. Following a declaration of 50 per cent stock dividend, its adjusted opening price stood at Tk 982.30 on Wednesday from the previous day's closing price of Tk 1473.50.
After opening the day's trading with adjusted price, the company's share price declined 4.52 per cent to Tk 937.90.
Of other small-cap companies, the share price of Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa declined 9.93 per cent.
The other small-cap stocks which declined on Wednesday include Fine Foods, Central Pharmaceuticals, Jute Spinners and Meghna Pet Industries.
A total of 336 issues traded on the DSE on Wednesday. Of them, 90 stocks advanced, 67 declined and 179 remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, the benchmark index of the Dhaka bourse closed flat amid sell pressure in sector-specific stocks.
A review of EBL Securities said many investors offloaded their holdings from the volatile issues amid concerns regarding the market outlook owing to pre-election uncertainties.
The benchmark DSEX index settled 1.35 points lower at 6243.88 while the DSE turnover stood at Tk 4.83 billion.
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