Penny stocks go through the roof

Two out of three stocks traded under the trade-to-trade category hit the upper limit of the circuit filter on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Tuesday, even as the sensex dropped by 353 points.

Of the 717 stocks traded under T, TS and Z group categories (penny stocks), 484 stocks hit the upper limit. About 30 per cent or 786 stocks of the 2,612 non-A-group stocks closed at their life-time highs, despite the Sensex's decline by 1.8 per cent on Tuesday.

Of the total 786 stocks, 522 were frozen at the upper limit at the end of the day. A total 702 stocks on Friday and 786 stocks on Monday hit the upper limit on BSE.

Among the frontline A group, Jindal Stainless, FACT and MIRC Electronics touched the upper circuit.

Of the 786 stocks, almost 44 per cent or 350 stocks were from the trade-to-trade segment (T group), where delivery of stocks is mandatory. As many as 209 stocks were from the B2 group, 49 from B1 and 44 each from the S and TS groups.

About 61 per cent or 90 out of 147 stocks from the Z group hit the upper circuit.

Stocks that do not fulfil the listing norms such as non-submission of annual reports and quarterly results, shareholding patterns, notice of book closure and record dates are traded under the Z group category.

In the trade-to-trade segment, the upper limit is fixed at 5 per cent and for other categories, the ceiling varies between 20 per cent and 5 per cent.